Irish exonyms

This is a list of Irish language exonyms for places outside of Ireland. The tables contain both endonyms and exonyms of places around the world, with the exonyms written in Irish and the endonyms in their regional language(s).

Algeria

Algeria an Ailgéir
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Algiers	Cathair na hAilgéire	Al Jāza'ir (الجزائر)	Standard Arabic
		Dzayer	Berber

Belgium

Belgium an Bheilg
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Antwerp	Antuairp	Antwerpen	Dutch
Brussels	an Bhruiséil	Brussel	Dutch
		Bruxelles	French
Flanders	Flóndras	Vlaanderen	Dutch
Leuven	Lováin	Leuven	Dutch	Site of St Anthony's College, Leuven, a centre of Irish learning and culture on the Continent
Ostend	Ostainn	Oostende	Dutch
Wallonia	an Vallúin	Wallonie	French
		Walonreye	Walloon

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina an Bhoisnia agus Heirseagaivéin
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Sarajevo	Sairéavo	Sarajevo (Сарајево)	Bosnian

Canada

Canada Ceanada
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Labrador	(Leithinis) Labradar	Labrador	English, French
		Nunatsuak	Inuttitut
Newfoundland	Talamh an Éisc	Ikkarumikluak	Inuttitut	Irish name means "fishing grounds"; Newfoundland was settled by large numbers of Irish emigrants
		Newfoundland	English
		Terre-Neuve	French
Nova Scotia	Albain Nua	Alba Nuadh	Scottish Gaelic
		Nouvelle-Écosse	French
		Nova Scotia	English

China

China an tSín
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Beijing	Bésing	Beijing (北京)	Mandarin
Tibet	Tibéid	Bhö (བོད)	Tibetan

Croatia

Croatia an Chróit
English name	Irish name	Endonym	Notes
Dalmatia	an Dalmáit	Dalmacija
Zagreb	Ságrab	Zagreb

Cyprus

Cyprus an Chipir
English name	Irish name	Endony		Notes
		Name	Language
Nicosia	an Leafcóis; an Nicóis	Lefkosía	Greek
		Lefkoşa	Turkish

Czech Republic

Czech Republic an tSeic
English name	Irish name	Endonym	Notes
Bohemia	an Bhohéim	Čechy
Prague	Prág	Praha

Denmark

Denmark an Danmhairg
English name	Irish name	Endonym	Notes
Copenhagen	Cóbanhávan	København
Jutland	an Iútlainn	Jylland
Zealand	an tSéalainn	Sjælland

Egypt

Egypt an Éigipt
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Cairo	Caireo

France

France an Fhrainc
English name	Irish name	French place		Notes
		Name	Language
Bordeaux	Bordghal	Bordeaux	French
		Bordèu	Gascon	From Latin Burdigula [1]
Brittany	an Bhríotáin	Breizh	Breton
		Bretagne	French
Burgundy	an Bhurgúin	Bourgogne	French
Corsica	an Chorsaic	Corse	French
		Corsica	Italian
Lorraine	an Lorráin	Lorraine	French
		Lottringe	West Franconian
		Louréne	Lorrain
Normandy	an Normainn	Normandie	French
		Normaundie	Norman
Paris	Páras	Paris	French

Germany

Germany an Ghearmáin
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Bavaria	an Bhaváir	Bayern	German
Berlin	Beirlín	Berlin	German	[2]
Saxony	an tSacsain	Sachsen	German
		Saggsn	Upper Saxon
		Sakska	Upper Sorbian

Great Britain

Great Britain and Crown dependencies: an Bhreatain Mhór
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Aberdeen	Obar Dheathain	Obar Dheathain	Scottish Gaelic
Bristol	Briostó	Bristol	English
Cardiff	Caedydd	Caerdydd	Welsh
Carlisle	Cathair Luail	Carlisle	English
Coatbridge	Drochaid an Chóta	Drochaid a' Chòta	Scottish Gaelic
Cornwall	an Chorn	Kernow	Cornish
	Corn na Breataine
Douglas	Dúlais	Doolish	Manx
Glasgow	Glaschú	Glaschu	Scottish Gaelic
Dundee	Dún Déagh	Dùn Dèagh	Scottish Gaelic
Edinburgh	Dún Éideann	Dùn Èideann	Scottish Gaelic
England	Sasana	England	English	From Old Irish Saxain (“Saxons, England”). [3] [4]
Guernsey	Geansaí
Hebrides	Inse Ghall	na h-Innse Gall	Scottish Gaelic
Inverness	Inbhear Nis	Inbhir Nis	Scottish Gaelic
Isle of Man	Manainn	Mannin	Manx	Translation Oileán Mhanann (from Manx : Ellan Vannin) also used
Isle of Wight	Inis Iocht	Isle of Wight	English
Jersey	Geirsí
Liverpool	Learpoll, Learpholl	Liverpool	English
London	Londain	London	English
Manchester	Manchain	Manchester	English	From Latin Mancunia
Orkney	Inse Orc	Arcaibh	Scottish Gaelic
Oxford	Áth na nDamh	Oxford	English	Calque, literally "ford of the oxen"
Perth	Peairt	Peairt	Scottish Gaelic
Scotland	Albain	Alba	Scottish Gaelic	See Alba
Severn	an tSabhrainn	Severn	English
		Hafren	Welsh
Stirling	Sruighle	Sruighlea	Scottish Gaelic	English name also used in Irish
Strathclyde	Srath Chluaidh	Srath Chluaidh	Scottish Gaelic
Thames	an Tamais	Thames	English
Wales	an Bhreatain Bheag	Cymru	Welsh	Literally "Little Britain." [5]
York	Eabhrac	York	English	From the Latin Eboracum .

Greece

Greece an Ghréig
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Language	Notes
Athens	an Aithin
Crete	an Chréit
Rhodes	Ródas
Thessaloniki	Teasaloinicé

Iceland

Iceland an Íoslainn
English name	Irish name	Endonym	Notes
Reykjavík	Réicivíc	Reykjavík

India

India an India, an Ind
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Delhi	Deilí
Kolkata	Calcúta

Indonesia

Indonesia an Indinéis
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Jakarta	Iacárta	Jakarta	Indonesian

Israel

Israel an Iosrael
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Jerusalem	Iarúsailéim	Al-Quds	Arabic	From Latin Ierusalem. The earliest Irish form is Old Irish Hierosalem, from the 8th-century poems of Blathmac mac Con Brettan.
		Yerushalayim (ירושלים)	Hebrew

Italy

Italy an Iodáil
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Florence	Flórans
Lombardy	an Lombaird
Milan	Milan/ Milano [6]
Piedmont	Píodmant
Rome	an Róimh
Sardinia	an tSairdín
Sicily	an tSicil
Tuscany	an Tuscáin
Venice	an Veinéis

Libya

Libya an Libia
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Tripoli	Tripilí

Lithuania

Lithuania an Liotuáin
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Vilnius	Vilnias	Vilnius	Lithuanian

Moldova

Moldova an Mholdóiv
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Chişinău	Císineá

Myanmar

Myanmar Maenmar
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Yangon	Rangún

Palestine

Palestine an Phalaistín
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Bethlehem	Beithil	بيت لحم (Beit Lahm)	Arabic
		בֵּית לֶחֶם (Bet Leḥem)	Hebrew
Jerusalem	Iarúsailéim	القُدس‎ (Al-Quds)	Arabic	From Latin Ierusalem. The earliest Irish form is Old Irish Hierosalem, from the 8th-century poems of Blathmac mac Con Brettan.
		יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (Yershuláyim)	Hebrew
Nazareth	Nazarat	النَّاصِرَة (an-Nāṣira)	Arabic
		נָצְרַת‎ (Natsrat)	Hebrew
		ܢܨܪܬ, (Naṣrath)	Imperial Aramaic

Poland

Poland an Pholainn
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Warsaw	Vársá	Warzawa	Polish

Portugal

Portugal an Phortaingéil
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Lisbon	Liospóin	Lisboa	Portuguese
Madeira	Maidéara

Romania

Romania an Rómáin
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Bucharest	Búcairist	Bucureşti	Romanian

Russia

Russia an Rúis
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Moscow	Moscó	Moskva	Russian
Saint Petersburg	Cathair Pheadair	Sankt Peterburg	Russian
Siberia	an tSibéir
Ural	an Úrail

Serbia

Serbia an tSeirbia
English name	Irish name	Endonym	Notes
Belgrade	Béalgrád	Beograd

South Korea

South Korea an Chóiré Theas
English name	Irish name	Endonym	Notes
Seoul	Súl

Spain

Spain an Spáinn
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
A Coruña	an Choróin			Obsolete
	Cathair na Cruinne
Aragon	an Aragóin
Galicia	an Ghailís
Mallorca	Mallarca
Menorca	Mionarca
Seville	Seville

Sudan

Sudan an tSúdáin
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Khartoum	Cartúm

Sweden

Sweden an tSualainn
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Götaland	an Ghotlann	Götaland	Swedish
Stockholm	Stócólm	Stockholm	Swedish

Switzerland

Switzerland an Eilvéis
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Geneva	an Ghinéiv	Genf	German
		Genève	French

Syria

Syria an tSiria
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Damascus	an Damaisc	Dimašq	Standard Arabic

Tunisia

Tunisia an Túnéis
English name	Irish name	Tunisian place		Notes
		Name	Language
Tunis	Túinis

Ukraine

Ukraine an Úcráin
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Crimea	an Chrimé
Kyiv	Cív	Kyiv	Ukrainian

United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates Aontas na nÉimíríochtaí Arabacha
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Abu Dhabi	Abú Daibí

United States

United States Stáit Aontaithe
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Boston	Bostún	Boston	English
Ellis Island	Oileán an Choraintín	Ellis Island	English	Meaning ‘Quarantine Island,’ reflecting the fact that Irish arrivals in New York were seen as carriers of infections and obliged to spend periods of quarantine there.
Hawai'i	Haváí	Hawai'i	English, Hawaiian
New York City	Nua-Eabhrac	New York City	English	From the Latin Eboracum , the old name for York, England.

Vietnam

Vietnam Vítneam
English name	Irish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Hanoi	Hanáí	Hà Nội	Vietnamese

References

• téarma.ie – Téarma – the National Terminology Database for Irish, developed by Fiontar (Dublin City University) in collaboration with An Coiste Téarmaíochta (Foras na Gaeilge)

1. Molloy, Cian (2002). The Story of the Irish Pub. The Liffey Press. p. 14.
2. "berlin - Aistriúchán Gaeilge ar berlin (An Foclóir Nua Béarla-Gaeilge)". www.focloir.ie. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
3. "Rerum Britannicarum Medii Ævi Scriptores, Or, Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland During the Middle Ages". Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans and Roberts. 18 September 1887 – via Google Books.
4. O'Curry, Eugene (20 July 1878). "Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History: Delivered at the Catholic University of Ireland, During the Sessions of 1855 and 1856". William A. Hinch – via Google Books.
5. McGarry, Patsy. "In a Word . . . Wales". The Irish Times.
6. "Milan". tearma.ie - Dictionary of Irish Terms - Foclóir Téarmaíochta. Fiontar. Retrieved 8 February 2016.

See also

• List of European exonyms