Estonia
Note: Estonian maakond means "county" and maa means "land". Counties given here without the suffix -maa take their names (and etymologies as given here) from their capitals.
- Hiiumaa: from Estonian hiis - "holy grove", or hiid - "giant", meaning "land of holy groves" or "land of giants".
- Ida-Virumaa: "Eastern Virumaa" - see Virumaa below
- Jõgeva: from Estonian jõgi - "river" (Pedja river) and possibly vahe - "between" (since the old estate stood on an island in the river), meaning "between rivers".
- Järvamaa: from Estonian järv - "lake", meaning "land of lakes".
- Läänemaa: from Estonian lääne - "western", meaning "western land".
- Lääne-Virumaa: "Western Virumaa" - see Virumaa below
- Petseri: from Russian peshchera - "caves".
- Põlva: from Estonian põlv - "knee". According to a legend, a virgin was once bricked in a church wall on her knees. According to another version, the Tartu-Võru and Kanepi-Räpina roads form a curve, shaped like a knee.
- Pärnu: named after Pärnu river, that drains into the sea at Pärnu
- Saaremaa: from Estonian saar - "island", meaning "island-land".
- Valga: from German family names de Walco and de Walko. According to another version, from Old Estonian valketa - "white".
- Virumaa: from several Finnic languages virukas - "big" or "strong", or vire "sharp" or "penetrating" (for wind), meaning "land of the strong / big" or "land of the sharp / penetrating winds". (In Finnish, the words for Estonia and Estonians derive from Virumaa - Viro and virolaiset.)
Read more about this topic: List Of Etymologies Of Country Subdivision Names