A selection of websites throughout the world dealing with geographical names
Updated 22 September 2021
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Worldwide
For names of populated places and features throughout the world, excluding those in the United States or the Antarctic, search the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) NGA GEOnet Names Server (GNS).
PCGN works closely with US BGN and the names in the GNS largely follow PCGN policy.
Read more on the BGN/PCGN relationship.
Please contact PCGN in case specific clarification is needed.
Selection of national websites are below:
Australia
Australia’s national mapping agency site database of place names in Australia
Austria
Austrian Board on Geographical Names [Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Kartographische Ortsnamenkunde, AKO].
Canada
Visit the website of the Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC) at Natural Resources Canada.
Search the GNBC database for information about geographical names in Canada.
The Atlas of Canada website.
Croatia
Name Search of the National Geographical Names Database.
Cyprus
Permanent Committee for the Standardization of Geographical Names of Cyprus
Czechia
Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre
Denmark
This site contains an alphabetical listing of authorised place names in Denmark. In Danish.
Estonia
Place Names Board of Estonia of Estonia: This site includes information on the Board and lists of geographical names in Estonia.
Visit the Estonian Place Names Register, the access point for the National Topographic Database, the Address Data System and the National Place Names Register. A searchable database of places in Estonia is available by visiting the Institute of Estonian Language Place Names Database.
Finland
Research Institute for the Languages of Finland, including a page on place names
France
Information on geographical names work in France at the Information on geographical names work in France at the Commission nationale de toponymie du Conseil national de l’information géographique (CNT/CNIG) - Toponymie. In French.
Germany
Search for geographical names using the gazetteer-web service at the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy website.
Ständiger Ausschuss für geographische Namen (StAGN) (Germany’s Permanent Committee on Geographical Names). In German.
Guatemala
Visit the National Geographic Institute website for Guatemala (In Spanish).
Hungary
Search the village finder and gazetteer of Hungary.
Iceland
Information about Iceland’s place names can be found at the Árnastofnun place name collection.
Ireland
Placenames Database of Ireland.
Japan
Browse Japan’s Toponymic Guidelines and gazetteer on the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan website.
Latvia
State Language Centre and Latvian Geospatial Information Agency.
The Latvian Geospatial Information Agency includes a database of place names in Latvia.
Lithuania
The State Commission of the Lithuanian Language
New Zealand
Search for place names in New Zealand at the New Zealand Geographic Place Names Database.
Norway
Norwegian Mapping Authority website, and place name data is also available to download.
Poland
Commission on Standardization of Geographical Names Outside the Republic of Poland (KSNG)
Slovakia
The Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre Authority of the Slovak Republic. Standardization of geographical names in Slovakia. In Slovak.
Slovenia
Slovene Governmental Commission for the Standardisation of Geographical Names in Slovenia
South Africa
Background information is available in the South African Geographical Names Council’s Handbook on Geographical Names.
South Korea
Toponymic Guidelines includes information on language, names and sources.
Spain
Place names browser in the Spatial Data Infrastructure of Spain.
Sweden
Use the National Land Survey internet service map search and place names to find officially approved place-name data. In Swedish.
Switzerland
Federal Office of Topography. Search Swiss topomaps and place names.
United States
The US Board on Geographic Names’ US database is managed by the US Geological Survey. Search here for place names within the United States and its territories.
Undersea feature names
Visit the website of the International Hydrographic Organization to learn about the Sub-Committee on Undersea Feature Names (SCUFN).
For names approved by the US Board on Geographic Names’ Advisory Committee on Undersea Features, visit the GeoNet Names Server. “Undersea Features” is listed amongst the geographical entities on the query form.
For names treated by the Geographical Names Board of Canada Advisory Committee on Undersea and Maritime Feature Names, visit the GNBC database, then select “Undersea Features” as the type of GeoNames query.
Planetary names
For information on planetary names and to download an alphabetical list of names from the International Astronomical Union is available on the planetary names website.