Tautological Place Name

A place name is tautological if two differently sounding parts of it are synonymous. This often occurs when a name from one language is imported into another and a standard descriptor is added on from the second language. Thus, for example, New Zealand's Mount Maunganui is tautological since "''maunganui"'' is Māori for "great mountain". The following is a list of place names often used tautologically, plus the languages from which the non-English name elements have come.

Tautological place names are systematically generated in languages such as English and Russian, where the type of the feature is systematically added to a name regardless of whether it contains it already. For example, in Russian, the format "Ozero X-ozero" (i.e. "Lake X-lake") is used. In English, it is usual to do the same for foreign names, even if they already describe the feature, for example ''Lake Kemijärvi'' (''Lake Kemi-lake''), "Faroe Islands" (''Literally Sheep-Island Islands, as øy is Modern Faroese for "Island")'', or ''Saaremaa island'' (''Island land island'').

On rare occasions, such formations may occur by coincidence when a place is named after a person who shares their name with the feature. Examples include the Outerbridge Crossing named after Eugenius Harvey Outerbridge, the Hall Building of Concordia University named after Henry Foss Hall, and Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens in Santa Barbara named after Alice Keck Park.

List

Asterisks (*) indicate examples that are also commonly referred to without the inclusion of one of the tautological elements.

Rivers

* River Acen, Acentown, Aceia
* River Avon, various in England and Scotland, and Avon River, in various parts of the world (River River – Brythonic, Modern Welsh ''Afon'', or Goidelic ''abhainn'')
* River Avonbeg, County Wicklow, Ireland (Small River River – Irish: ''Abhainn Bheag'')
* River Avonmore, County Wicklow, Ireland (Big River River – Irish: ''Abhainn Mhór'')
* River Awbeg, County Cork, Ireland (Small River River – Irish: ''Abhainn Bheag'')
* Batang Hari River, Jambi Province, Indonesia (Hari River River - Indonesian: ''Sungai Batang Hari'')
* River Bourne, various in England meaning "River stream".
* Caloosahatchee River, Florida, United States (Hatchee = river – Caloosa River River)
* Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, United States (from Navajo Tséyiʼ, which means "canyon" )
* Connecticut River, United States (Long Tidal River River – Mohegan-Pequot)
* Coosawhatchie River, South Carolina, United States (Hatchie = river)
* Cuyahoga River, Ohio (''Cuyahoga'' derives from the Mohawk word for "crooked river")
* Fishkill Creek, Catskill Creek, Poestinkill Creek, and Schuylkill River ("skulking river river"), eastern US ('' -kill'' means "creek, small river" in Dutch, so "-creek Creek", "-river River")
* , northern Spain. ''Río'' and ''flumen'' are respectively Spanish and Latin for 'river'.
* Futaleufú River, Argentina and Chile (Big River River – Mapuche language).
* Guadalaviar River, Spain (White River River – from Arabic ''al-wādi al-'abyaḍ'', 'White River')
* Guadalentín River, Spain (Muddy River River – from Arabic ''al-wādi aṭ-ṭīn'', 'Muddy River')
* Guadalhorce River, Spain (Scissor-shaped River River – from Arabic ''al-wādi al'' and Latin ''forfex'', 'scissors')
* Guadalquivir River, Spain (Great River River – from Arabic ''wādi al-kabīr'', 'Great Valley (or River)')
* Guadiana River, Spain and Portugal (Duck River River – from Arabic ''wādi'', 'river' and iberian ''anas'', 'duck')
* Guadix River, Spain River of Acci River – ''Guad'' comes from Arabic ''wādi'' 'valley' or 'river', and ''ix'' is a corruption of Acci, the name of the town nearest the river during Roman times.
* River Gweebarra, Ireland – from Irish ''gaoth Bheara'', "Beara's river"
* Hatchie River, southern US (River River – ''hatchie'' meaning "river" in Muskogean languages)
* River Humber, England, and Humber River, Ontario, Canada (River River – Brythonic)
* Iguaçu River (Rio de Janeiro), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Big River River – ''Iguaçu'' comes from Tupi y'', river, and ''guaçu'', big)
* Iguazu River, Brazil and Argentina, (Big River River – ''Iguazu'' comes from Tupi y'', river, and ''guaçu'', big)
* Ipiranga Brook, São Paulo, Brazil (Red River Brook – ''Ipiranga'' comes from Tupi y'', river, and ''pyrang'', red)
* Kymijoki, ''kymi'' is old/dialectal Finnish for ''joki'' ”river”.
* Latsa erreka (tributary of the Nive), France (Brook Brook – Basque)
* Lealt River, Scotland (" Lealt" means "Stream with one high bank")
* Loxahatchee River, Florida, United States (Loxa = Turtle & Hatchee = river: Turtle River River)
* Mahanadi, India ("Maha" meaning Great and "Nadi" meaning river in Odia language)
* Mississippi River, US, and Mississippi River, Ontario, Canada (Big River River – Algonquian)
* Mekong River - A triple tautonym. 'Mae' in Thai is an abbreviation for "river", while 'khong' is an old Austroasiatic word for river. Mekong River can thus be translated as "river river river"
* Molopo River, South Africa (River River – Setswana)
* River Ouse, various in England and Scotland (River River – from Brythonic ''usa'' meaning water, river or stream).
* Ouseburn River in Newcastle upon Tyne, England (River River River – from Brythonic ''usa'' meaning water, river or stream and '' bourne'' also meaning stream in Anglo-Saxon).
* Murderkill River, Delaware, US, (Mother River River-Dutch)
* Ohio River, eastern US (Great River River – Iroquoian)
* Ow River, County Wicklow, Ireland (from Irish ''abha'', "river")
* Para Rivers ( North Para, South Para, and Little Para), South Australia (from Kaurna ''parri'', "river")
* Paraguay River, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina (the Great River River – Guaraní)
* Raritan River, New Jersey (River Beyond The Island River, Forked River River, or Overflowing River River, depending on which etymology is correct.)
* Reka, Slovenia – the name means literally "river" in Slovene
* Rillito River, Tucson, Pima County (southern Arizona), US (Little River River – Spanish)
* Rio Grande River, Source: San Juan Mountains, Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado, US (Big River River – Spanish)
* Rječina, Croatia - the name is the augmentative form of the word ''rijeka'', which means "river" in Croatian
* Salkehatchie River, South Carolina, US (Hatchie = river)
* Schuylkill River, Pennsylvania, US – “Schuylkill” meaning “hidden river” in Dutch
* Skookumchuck River and Pilchuck River, Washington, US – the suffix ''chuck'' in Chinook Jargon meaning "river"
* Talkeetna River located in Talkeetna, Alaska, meaning "river of plenty"
* Uruguay River, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina (River of the painted birds River – Guaraní)
* Vaslui River
* Walla Walla River, Washington, US (Little River River; ''Walla'' means "river" in Sahaptin, repeated to express the diminutive ("little river"))
* River Waveney (the "ey" part of the name means "river")
* Winterbourne Stream, East Sussex, UK — ''bourne'' meaning a stream that only flows in winter.
* River Wissey (the "ey" part of the name means "river")
* Withlacoochee River, Withlacoochee probably comes from the Muskogean word meaning "little river."
* Bakkárholtsá in the Ölfus region of Iceland. The river was originally named Bakká, "Bank River", and then a farm nearby was named Bakkárholt, "Bank River Hill". The river was then later renamed after the farm as Bakkárholtsá, which translates to "Bank River Hill River"
* Most river names in the Sundanese portion of Indonesia start with the prefix ''ci''-, which is Sundanese for "river". Many people refer the names redundantly using both the Indonesian word ''sungai'' and prefix ''ci''-, for example, ''Sungai Ciliwung'' ("Ciliwung River") translates to ''Sungai Sungai Liwung'' ("Liwung River River").
* Some river names in Hokkaido and Tohoku end with ''-betsu'' (For example, ) or ''-nai'' (For example, ). (Borrowing from ''-pet'' ''-nay'' "River" - Ainu)
* Many rivers in Ireland contain the element ''Owen'' in their name, from Irish ''abhann'', "river." Tautological hydronyms include: Owenaher River, Owenakilla River, Bunowen River, Camowen River, Owenea River, Owenboy River, Owenvarra.
* Multiple creeks and rivers in the region surrounding Melbourne, Australia contain the element ''Yallock'' or ''Yaloak'', which means creek or river in the related Kulin languages Woiwurrung, Bunurong and Wathawurrung. These include Woori Yallock Creek, Mordialloc Creek, Woady Yaloak River, and Yallock Creek.
*Multiple rivers and streams in New Zealand have the prefix ''wai-'', the Māori term for river. Notable examples include the Waikato River (river strong flowing river) and Waimakariri River (river cold river).

Lakes and other bodies of water

* Republic of Karelia, Russia is full of ''Ozero ...ozero'' ('Lake ...-lake' in the Russian Language), or ''Ozero ...yarvi'' ('Lake ...-lake' in the Russian Language and Karelian language).
* Uvala Bregdetti, Zadar, Arbanasi, Croatia ('Cove Cove' - Croatian, Albanian)
* Ala Wai Canal, Honolulu, Hawaii ('Canal Canal' - Hawaiian)
* Atlin Lake, British Columbia ('Lake Big Lake' - Tlingit)
* Auke Lake, Juneau, Alaska ('Little Lake Lake' - Tlingit)
*Bohai Sea, China('Bo Sea Sea' -Chinese)
*Cove Bay, Aberdeen, Scotland
* Dal Lake, Kashmir, India ('Lake Lake' – Balti)
* Deschutes Falls, Tumwater, Washington ('Falls Falls, Falls, Washington' – French and Chinuk Wawa)
* Eas Fors, Scotland ('Waterfall Waterfall' in Scottish Gaelic and Norse)
* Gaube Lake, Hautes-Pyrénées ('Lake Lake' – French and Gascon)
* Golfe du Morbihan, Brittany ('Gulf Gulf' - French and Breton ''morbihan'' 'little sea'), not to be confused with Golfe du Morbihan (Kerguelen)
* Gulf of Bothnia ('Gulf of gulf' – English and Latinised Swedish)
* Hardangerfjord, Norway (Hard fjord-fjord ''anger'' means fjord in Norse.)
* Hayle Estuary, Cornwall ('Estuary Estuary' – Cornish ''Heyl'' 'estuary')
* Issyk-Kul Lake, Kyrgyzstan ('Hot Lake Lake' – Kyrgyz)
* Järvijärvi, Sodankylä, Finland ('Lake Lake' – Finnish)
* Jaurajärvi and Jaurakkajärvi, Finland ('Lake Lake' – Sami ''javri'' 'lake', Finnish ''järvi'' 'lake')
* Jog Falls, Karnataka, India – A waterfall where "jog" or "joga" means waterfall in the local Kannada language
* Laacher See, Germany – A caldera lake and potentially active volcano ('Lake of the Lake')
* Lac d'Oô, France — The name ''Oô'' is derived from Aragonese ''ibon'' 'mountain lake' or from Gascon ''iu'' or ''eu'' 'mountain lake', so that ''Lac d'Oô'' is 'Lake of the Lake'.
* Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria – ''lagos'' is Portuguese for 'lakes', and "lagoon" derives from Latin ''lacus'' 'lake, pond'
* Laguna Lake, Philippines – ''laguna'' is Spanish for 'lake'. It is also known as Laguna de Bay; it is a bay but rather refers to the town of Bay, Laguna, and was in fact known as ''Laguna de Ba'i'' ('Ba'i Lake') in Spanish times.
* Laguna Lake, California ('Lake Lake' – Spanish)
* Lake Baikal, Russia ('Lake Rich lake' – From the Turkic *baj* (rich, though this is disputed) and *kal* (lake).
* Lake Chad, Chad ('Lake lake' – Bornu word ''tsade'': "lake")
* Lake Danao (Leyte) and Lake Danao (Negros), Philippines ('Lake Lake' – Cebuano)
* Lake Ellesmere, New Zealand ('Ella's lake lake' – Old Norse.)
* Lake Hayq, Ethiopia – Amharic ''hayk'' means 'lake'.
* Lake Khövsgöl - Khövsgöl, Mongolia – Lake Blue Water Lake, from Tuvan.
* Lake Lagunita, Stanford, California ('Lake Little Lake' – Spanish)
* Lake Michigan, United States – 'Lake Large Lake' (Michigan is French alteration of the Ojibwe word ''mishigamaa'')
* Lake Nyassa (now called Lake Malawi), Malawi/Mozambique ('Lake Lake' – Yao)
* Lake Ontario, North America ('Lake Beautiful Lake' – Iroquoian)
** Ontario Lacus, southern Titan ('Beautiful Lake Lake' - Iroquoian)
* Lake Rotorua, New Zealand ('Lake Lake Second' – Māori. Many other New Zealand lakes have the tautological "Lake Roto-" form)
* Lake Tahoe, Nevada/California ('Lake Lake' – Washo language, Washo)
* Lake Võrtsjärv, Estonia, ''järv'' - ''lake'' in Estonian language.
* Lake Windermere, England ('Winander Mere (Lake)' in Old Norse and Old English
* Lakeville Lake, Michigan, US – The village is Lakeville, the adjacent lake is Lakeville Lake.
* Loch Loch, Scotland. Not to be confused with Loch Lochy.
* Loch Lomond Lake, near Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
* Loch Watten, Scotland, from Gaelic ''loch'', plus Norse ''vatn''
* Lochaber Lake, Lochaber, Nova Scotia, Canada ('Lake Marsh Lake', Scottish - Gaelic - Modern English)
* Lochmere Lake, Cary, North Carolina ('Lake Lake Lake', Scottish - Old English - Modern English)
* Loughrigg Tarn, from Gaelic ''loch'', plus Norse-derived "ridge", and ''Tarn (lake), tarn'' meaning a body of water
* Meusebach Creek School, Meusebach Creek, Texas, from German ''Mäusebach'' - Mouse Creek, therefore 'Mouse Creek Creek'
* Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota, USA ('Thousand Lakes Lake' – French)
*Nordvik Bay, Sakha Republic, Russia ('North Bay Bay' – Norwegian and English)
* Østensjøvannet, Østensjøvann is a Norwegian lake name that concatenates ''sjø'' ('lake that is not as narrow as a fjord') and ''vann'' ('lake'). Similarly Møsvatn, Møsvann in Telemark, Norway combines ''mjøsa'' meaning 'lake' with ''vann'' meaning 'lake'.
* Pistyll Rhaeadr, Wales. Both ''pistyll'' and ''rhaeadr'' have connotations of "waterfall, spout, cascade".
* Sandefjordsfjorden, Norway, 'Sande fjord's fjord'
* Semerwater, sometimes Lake Semerwater, North Yorkshire, England. Semer is from Old English ''sæ'' 'lake' and ''mere'' 'lake', thus Lake Semerwater means 'lake lake lake water'
* Stavangerfjorden, Norway, Straight fjord-fjord, ''stav'' means straight and ''anger'' means fjord in Norse.
* Tal-y-llyn Lake, Wales (End-of the-lake lake – ''llyn ''is Welsh language, Welsh for lake)
* Uig Bay ("Uig, Snizort, Uig" means "bay")
* Vatnshlíðarvatn, Iceland (Lake-slope-lake – The farm Vatnshlíð ('Lake-slope') named after the lake, which in turn is named after the farm.)
* Vatnvatnet, Norway ('Lakelake' – Norwegian), a lake near Bodø
* Wast Water, England – 'water's valley water' from Old Norse ''vatns dalr'' (= Wasdale) and Old English ''wæter''

Mountains and hills

*Barrhill, South Ayrshire, Barrhill, barr is an old Celtic word for a flat topped hill.
*Bergeberget, Norway (The Hill Hill – Norwegian)
*Bukit Timah Hill, The highest point in Singapore (Tin Hill Hill)
*Brda, Slovenia, Brda Hills, Slovenia – "brda" means small hills in Slovene (thus, the area is sometimes referred to as "Goriška Brda" or "Gorizia Hills" to distinguish it from others)
*Bredon Hill, England (Hill Hill Hill – Common Brittonic, Brythonic (bre)/Old English (don)/Modern English); compare Bredon and Breedon on the Hill (Hill Hill on the Hill – Brythonic/Saxon/Modern English)
*Brill, Buckinghamshire, Brill, England (Hill Hill – Brythonic/Saxon) – also once known in documents as Brill-super-montem (Hill Hill on the Hill – Brythonic/Saxon/Latin). There is also a street in Brill named Brae Hill; arguably its residents could be said to live in Hill Hill, Hill Hill on the Hill
*Brincliffe Edge, Sheffield, UK (Burning Hill Hill Welsh/English)
*Bryn Glas Hill, Wales (Blue Hill Hill – Welsh/English)
*Brynhill, Wales (Hill Hill – Welsh/English)
*Djebel Amour, Algeria: (Arabic & Tamazight)
*Filefjell, Norway (The mountain mountain – Norwegian)
*Fjällfjällen, Sweden (The mountain mountains – Swedish)
*Garmendia: Garr- Mendi (root), Mendi(a) (fossil & modern Basque)
*Rock of Gibraltar, The Rock of Gibraltar, (The Rock of The Rock of Tariq - "Gibraltar" From Arabic Jebel-Al-Tariq, which means "The Rock of Tariq")
*Hameldon Hill ("don" likely means "hill")
* Hill Mountain, Pembrokeshire, Wales
* Haukafellsfjall, Iceland – (Haukur's Mountain's Mountain)
* Hoffellsfjall, Iceland – (Monastery Mountain Mountain)
* Hólahólar, Iceland – (Hills' Hills)
*Hueco Tanks, an area of low mountains in El Paso County, Texas.
*Huntshaw Wood ("Huntshaw" means "Hun's wood" or "honey wood")
* Kálfafellsfjöll, Iceland – (Calf Mountain Mountains)
*Knockhill, a common placename in the Scottish Lowlands, deriving from Scottish Gaelic, ''cnoc'' meaning a "hill".
* Kukkulamäki, in 24 distinct locations (Rautjärvi, Jyväskylä, Salo, ...) in Finland, is ''kukkula'' "hill" and ''mäki'' "hill".
*Montana Mountain, Yukon: Montaña Spanish 'mountain mountain'
*Montcuq, Lot (department), Lot, France: Mont Kukk 'mount mount'
*Monteagle Mountain, a commonly-used colloquial name for an area of the Cumberland Plateau near the town of Monteagle, Tennessee. (Eagle Mountain Mountain)
*Morro Rock, a volcanic plug rising out of the ocean on the Central Coast of California, from Spanish "Morro" meaning "rock" (Rock Rock).
*Mount Afadja, Ghana's highest peak, is often referred to as 'Mount Afadjato', which means 'Mount Afadja Mountain', 'To' being the Ewe language word for 'Mountain'. Ewe is the main language spoken in the area surrounding the peak.
*Mount Fujiyama, Japan (Mount Fuji Mountain – English/Japanese; Yama means mountain)
*Mount Katahdin, Maine (Mount The Greatest Mountain – English/Penobscot)
*Mount Kenya, Kenya (Mount White Mountain – "Kenya" is from Kikuyu "Kirinyaga", 'white mountain')
*Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (Mount Mount Njaro – Swahili)
*Mount Maunganui, New Zealand (Mount Mount Big – Māori)
*Mount Ōyama (Kanagawa), Mount Ōyama, Japan (Mount Big Mountain – Japanese)
*Mount Pisgah (disambiguation), Mount Pisgah (several places in the United States, Australia, Canada, and Antarctica, all ultimately named after a biblical mountain), from Hebrew language, Hebrew ''pisgah'' (פִּסְגָּה), "summit".
*Mount Yamantau, Russia (Mount Evil Mountain – Bashkir) The tautology exists in Russian language, Russian as well as English (гора Ямантау from гора Яман тау).
*Pedro Colina Hill, Philippines – (Peter Hill Hill – Spanish/English/Spanish; "Colina" is Spanish for hill)
*Pendle Hill, Lancashire, England. (Hill Hill Hill) – "Pen" -(Cumbric language) "Pendle" by epenthesis and elision from "Pen Hyll", the latter word being Old English for "hill".
*Pendleton, Lancashire, Pendleton, near Pendle Hill, Lancashire, England. (Hill Hill Town) or, possibly (Hill Hill Hill), taking the -ton as deriving from Old English dun as opposed to Old English tun.
* Pendleton Hill, North Stonington, Connecticut, North Stonington, Connecticut. (Hill Hill Town Hill) or, possibly, (Hill Hill Hill Hill).
*Penhill, North Yorkshire, England: ''Pen'' (Brittonic languages, Brittonic) and ''hyll'' (Old English), both meaning "hill"
*Pen Hill, Somerset England: ''Pen'' (Brittonic languages, Brittonic) and ''hyll'' (Old English), both meaning "hill"
*Pen Hill, Dorset, England: ''Pen'' (Brittonic languages, Brittonic) and ''hyll'' (Old English), both meaning "hill"
*Pennard Hill, England ("Pennard means "High Hill", see East Pennard and West Pennard)
*Pic de la Munia in Piau-Engaly, France: Pic Muño (Romance languages, Romance & Euskara)
*Picacho Peak (Arizona, U.S.) (Peak Peak – Spanish)
* Pinnelhill, Fife, Scotland. ''Pen'' (Pictish language, Pictish) and ''hyll'' (Old English; x2), both meaning "hill".
*Pinnacle Peak (Arizona), Pinnacle Peak (Maricopa County, Arizona, U.S.) and Mount Pinnacle (southwestern Virginia, U.S.). Both English. Other locations have the same names.
*Portsdown Hill (Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK) Port's Hill (dún; Anglosaxon) Hill.
*Slieve Mish Mountains, Ireland (Mis's Mountain mountains)
*Slieve Bloom Mountains, Ireland – (Bladh's Mountain Mountains)
* Svínafellsfjall, Iceland – (Pig Mountain Mountain)
*Rock and Pillar Range, Summit Peak, New Zealand (Peak Peak – both English) – also the U.S. has five hills called Summit Peak.
* Table Mesa (Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, USA) (Table Table – Spanish)
*Toiyabe Range (Nevada, U.S.) Shoshoni language, Shoshoni ''toyapi'' "mountain"
*Torpenhow, Cumbria, England, supposedly meaning "hill hill hill", exaggerated into an (unsubstantiated) "Torpenhow Hill = hill-hill-hill hill" for effect; it may only be a single tautology, ''torpen'' expressing "the top or breast of a hill" (rather than "hill-hill"), with the tautological addition of Old Norse ''howe'' (''haugr'') "hill".
*Tuc de la Pale, Ariège (department), Ariège, France: Tuk Pal 'mount mount'
*Annamite Range, Dãy núi Trường Sơn, Vietnam. Núi Trường Sơn: Long Mountain Mountain.
*Vignemale, Pyrenees: Went Mal 'mount mount'
*Yunling Mountains, China (Cloudy mountains mountains – Chinese)

Islands

*Bardsey Island, Wales ("Bardsey" means "Bardr's island")
*Bernera Island*, Scotland ("Bernera" means "Bjørn's island")
*Brownsea Island, England ("Brownsea" probably means "Brunoc's island")
*Caldey Island, Wales ("Caldey" means "Cold island")
*Canvey Island, England (Cana's island island – Anglo-Saxon language, Anglo-Saxon)
*Cara Island*, Scotland ("Cara" may mean "Kari's island" or "dearest")
*Dodecanese Islands, Aegean Sea (Twelve Islands Islands – Greek language, Greek; properly called the Dodecanese)
*Island of Danna*, Scotland ("Danna" means "Dane's island")
*Faroe Islands, sometimes ''Faeroe Islands'' (Sheep Islands Islands – Faroese language, Faroese ''-oe'' means 'islands' ( fo, oyar, da, øerne); the first part of the name (''Før-'', ''Fær-'' or ''Fär-'') is thought to mean 'sheep'; see History of the Faroe Islands#Pre-Norse history, History of the Faroe Islands).
*Furzey Island, England ("Furzey" means "Furze island")
*Gateholm Island*, Wales ("Gateholm" means "Goat island")
*Gezira Island, Cairo, Egypt. ''Gezira'' means 'island' in Egyptian Arabic, so the name is "Island Island."
*Isle of Gigha*, Scotland ("Gigha" probably means "God's island" or "good island")
*Gili Islands, North-west of Lombok, Indonesia (Small Island Islands – Sasak language, Sasak)
*Great Cumbrae Island*, Scotland ("Great Cumbrae" means "Large island of the Cymric people")
*Grand Manan Island*, NB, Canada (Grand Island Island – Maliseet-Passamaquoddy-Penobscot Indian)
*Handa Island*, Scotland ("Handa" means "Island at the sandy river")
*Huapi Island, Chile ("Huapi" means island in Mapuche language)
*Insh Island*, Scotland ("Insh" means "Island")
*Isla Pulo, Metro Manila, Philippines (Island Island – Filipino language, Filipino)
*Kodiak Island, Alaska (Alutiiq ''qikertaq'', meaning "island")
*Little Cumbrae, Little Cumbrae Island*, Scotland ("Little Cumbrae" means "Little island of the Cymric people")
*Longa Island ("Longa" means "long ship Island")
*Lundy Island*, England (puffin island island – Norse)
*Isle of May, Scotland ("May" possibly means "island of seagulls")
*Mersea Island ("Mersea" means "island of the pool")
*Motu Island, New Zealand ("Motu" is Māori for "island")
*Motutapu Island, New Zealand (Island Sacred Island)
*Öholmen, Pargas, Finland (island the island – Old Norse)
*Osea Island ("Osea" means "Osyth's Island")
*Portsea Island, England ("Portsea" means "harbour island")
*Isle of Raasay*, Scotland ("Raasay" means "Roe deer island" or possibly "horse island")
*Ramsey Island, Wales ("Ramsey" means "Hrafn's island")
*Isle of Sheppey, England (Island of sheep island – Saxon)
*Shuna Island*, Scotland ("Shuna" probably means "Sea island")
*Soa Island ("Soa" means "sheep island")
*Soyea Island*, Scotland ("Soyea" means "Sheep island")
*Skokholm Island*, Wales ("Skokholm" means "Wooded island")
*Skomer Island*, Wales ("Skomer" means "Cleft island")
*Isle of Skye*, see Etymology of Skye
*Island of Stroma* ("Stroma" means "Island in the stream")
*Tenasillahe Island, Oregon. ''Tenasillahe'' means 'island' in Chinook Jargon.
*Wallasea Island, England ("Wallasea" is said to mean "foreigner island")
*Walney Island, England (British island island – Old Norse)

Human structures

* Calatañazor Castle, Spain (Eagles Castle Castle – from Arabic ''Qal'at an-Nusur'', 'Castle of the Eagles')
* Calatayud Castle, Spain (Jewish Castle Castle – from Arabic ''Qal'at Yahud'', 'Jewish Castle')
* Calatrava la Vieja Castle and Calatrava la Nueva Castle, Spain (The Old Rabah's Castle Castle and The New Rabah's Castle Castle – from Arabic ''Qal'at Rabah'', Rabah being the first Muslim owner of the first ("old") castle in the 8th century)
* Carmarthen, Wales (Welsh: ''Caerfyrddin'') – (Fort fort by the sea – "Caer"/"Car" = Welsh for fort (from Latin ''castra''), "marthen"/"m(f)yrddin" is a Welsh name derived from Latin Moridunum (Carmarthen), Moridunum, which itself derived from Brythonic "môr" (sea) and "din"/"dun" (fort))
* Cartagena, Spain – originally ''Carthago Nova'' (New New City), from Latin "New Carthage"; ''Carthago'' itself is from Phoenician language, Phoenician ', 'New City'
* Châteaudun, France (Castle Stronghold – French and Gaulish)
* Cheetwood, Greater Manchester, England - containing ''cę:to'' (Brittonic) + ''wudu'' (Old English), both with connotations of "wood, forest".
* Chetwode, Buckinghamshire, England - see above.
* Clapton-on-the-Hill, Gloucestershire, England, "Clapton, Gloucestershire, Clapton" means 'Hill farm/settlement'
* City of Townsville a rare triple tautological name (named after Robert Towns)
* Port of Copenhagen, Denmark - the Danish language, Danish name ''Københavns Havn'' literally means "Merchants' Harbor Harbor".
* El Pont de Suert, Catalonia, Spain – literally 'the bridge of bridge'; "Pont" is the Catalan word for 'bridge' derived from Latin pons, pontis 'bridge' and "Suert" comes from the Basque ''Zubiarte'', meaning 'between bridges'.
* Puente de Alcántara, El Puente de Alcántara, Toledo, Spain (The Bridge of the Bridge – ''Puente'' from Spanish, ''Alcántara'' from Arabic ' 'the bridge')
* Fshati Sellcë near Tetovo, North Macedonia, from Albanian and Macedonian ', both meaning "village".
* Gaza Museum of Archaeology, known as "the al-Mat'haf Museum." In Arabic, ' means 'the Museum'; thus, it is being called "the the Museum Museum."
* Hall Building on the campus of Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, named after Henry Foss Hall, a former university president.
* Külaküla, Külaküla, Estonia, translated literally as "Village village".
* Laugardalur, Laugardalslaug (a swimming pool in Reykjavík, literally 'the pool of the valley of the pool'; the valley was originally named after pools used for washing clothes, but a swimming pool was subsequently built there)
* Linguaglossa, Italy (Sicily) (from Italian language, Italian "lingua", "tongue" and Greek language, Greek "γλώσσα", "tongue")
* Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne, named after Australian tennis player Margaret Court; the venue is best known for hosting the Australian Open tennis championship, as well as other sports played on courts.
* Moorestown Township, New Jersey
* Napton on the Hill, Warwickshire – Napton means "settlement on the hill"
* Newtownballynoe, County Cork, Ireland—ballynoe from the Irish ''An Baile Nua'' meaning "New Town".
* Outerbridge Crossing between Perth Amboy, New Jersey and Staten Island, though in this case "Outerbridge" refers to Eugenius Harvey Outerbridge, and not, as is commonly assumed, to the bridge's location.
* Pawtucket Falls (Massachusetts) and Pawtucket Falls (Rhode Island) – ''Pawtucket'' is an Algonquian languages, Algonkian word meaning "at the falls in the river (tidal stream)".
* Staðarstaður, Iceland (''Staður'' means "a pastor's farm" and is a common suffix to the names of such farms—this means "Pastor's farm which is a pastor's farm")
* Thun Castle, "Fortress Castle"
* Trendle Ring earthwork in Somerset, England (Circle Circle)
* Stonepit Quarry old quarry now part of the Old Sulehay nature reserve in Peterborough, England
* Yeshiva University, New York City, New York (yeshiva is a Hebrew word meaning university/place of learning, as well as 'the act of sitting')

Streets and roads

* Avenida Boulevard is a street that crosses the city line between Gurabo, Puerto Rico and Juncos, Puerto Rico (''avenida'' = "avenue" in Spanish)
* La Avenida Street, Mountain View, California (The Avenue Street – Spanish)
* Avenue du Boulevard is a street in Portneuf, Quebec
* Avenue Road is a major street in Toronto, Ontario. It is also the name of streets in Bromley, United Kingdom; Cambridge, Ontario; Lavadia, New South Wales; Mosman, New South Wales; Perrysburg, Ohio; and Smithfield, North Carolina.
* Avenue Road, Bangalore in Bengaluru/Bangalore, India
* Boulevard Avenue is the name of streets in Atlantic City, New Jersey; Bismarck, North Dakota; Central Islip, New York; Craigmont, Idaho; Dickson City, Pennsylvania; Ellicott, New York; Greenlawn, New York; Lincoln, Rhode Island; Little Rock, Arkansas; Montgomery, Minnesota; Pennsauken Township, New Jersey; Pitman, New Jersey; Scranton, Pennsylvania; and West Islip, New York.
* Boulevard Drive is the name of streets in Amory, Mississippi; Atlanta, Georgia; Belpre, Ohio; Danbury, Connecticut; Fort Hunt, Virginia; Homosassa, Florida; La Mesa, California; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; St. Ignace, Michigan; Thomson, Georgia; and Wayne, New Jersey
* Boulevard Road is the name of streets in several towns in the United States: Arlington, Massachusetts; Cedar Knolls, Hanover Township, New Jersey; Dedham, Massachusetts; Iron River, Wisconsin; Keokuk, Iowa; Olympia, Washington; and Sumter, South Carolina.
* Boulevard Street is the name of streets in Akron, Ohio; Bacliff, Texas; Kokomo, Indiana; Mexico, Missouri; Salina, New York; Sandwich, Illinois; and Shreveport, Louisiana.
* Calle Boulevard is a street in Bayamón, Puerto Rico (''calle'' = "street" in Spanish)
* Calle Road is a street in Torrance, California
* Calle Street is the name of streets in Leander, Texas; Taft, Texas; Tampa, Florida; Victoria, Texas and Warwick, Rhode Island
* El Camino Way in Palo Alto, California (The way way – Spanish)
* Fore Street is a common street name in the South West of England, where "Fore" derives from the Cornish for 'street'.
* Lane Street is a street in Adelaide, Australia; Bucyrus, Ohio; Church Hill, Tennessee; Kannapolis, North Carolina; Mebane, North Carolina; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; Topeka, Illinois; and Topeka, Kansas.
* Road Street is a street in Elizabeth City, North Carolina
* Street Lane is the main road through the eponymous hamlet of Street Lane in Derbyshire, United Kingdom. It is also a street in Coldspring, Texas and Leeds, United Kingdom;
* Street Road refers to two different highways in Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Route 132 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Bucks County and Pennsylvania Route 926 in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Chester County) – Two nearly synonymous English words. There is also a Street Road in Glastonbury, Somerset, England which leads towards the nearby town called Street. There is also a High Street Rd in Glen Waverley, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, which is a continuation of a street called High St.
* Voundervour Lane, Penzance, Cornwall, UK; (vounder or bounder is a Cornish word meaning lane)

Other

* Aran Valley, Catalonia, Spain – ''Aran'' comes from the proto-Basque word ''haran'' meaning "valley"; in the local Gascon dialect, ''aran'' also means "valley"
* Ards Peninsula, Northern Ireland – from Irish ''aird'' meaning "promontory" or "peninsula"
* Ardtornish Point, Scotland (High/Heights or Point Point) – ''Aird'' from Scottish Gaelic language, Gaelic, ''nish'' from the Old Norse language, Norse ''Ness'' and ''point'' from English language, English – all referring to some form of cape, point or headland).
* Barna Gap, Ireland – (Gap Gap – ''barna'' is the Irish word for a mountain gap)
* Beechhurst Holt Wood, England (beech wood wood wood – Anglo-Saxon language, Anglo-Saxon)
* Boulder Rock, Ross Dependency, Antarctica
* Caernarfon Castle, Wales (Castle Arfon Castle — Welsh language, Welsh) (this is inaccurate as castle is 'castell' and caer is 'fort,' it's actually Arfon fort castle)
* Cheile Cheii, Vâlcea County, Vâlcea, Romania (Gorges' Gorges – Romanian language, Romanian)
* Col de Port, Ariège (department), Ariège, France (Pass Pass – French and Occitan language, Occitan)
* Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany, France (Coast of Coast – French and Breton)
* Cuesta Grade, California (grade grade – Spanish and English language, English)
* Daladalur, Iceland – (Valley of Valleys, named after the farm Dalir (Valleys))
* Dalsdalen, Luster, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway (Valley's-Valley) – Norwegian language, Norwegian
* Dasht-e Kavir, Iran (desert desert)
* East Timor, (East East): From the Indonesian and Malay language, Malay word "''timur''", meaning "east"; "''Timor Leste''" has the same meaning, ''leste'' meaning "east" in Portuguese language, Portuguese. (This is strictly not a tautology, as the ''country'' East Timor indeed takes up the eastern half of the ''island'' Timor; the island was named thus by peoples living west of it. The western half is part of Indonesia and informally named West Timor. See also South Australia and South Vietnam below.)
* Gilsárgil, Iceland – (Canyon River Canyon: The canyon of the river which in turn flows through that same canyon.) The river was named first, and then the canyon was named after the river much later.
* Glendale (disambiguation), Glendale – Anglicisation of the Gaelic ''Gleann Dail''. ''Gleann'' simply means "valley", and ''dail'' is a borrowing from the Norse for "valley", which in Gaelic specifically means a valley containing fertile arable land, or any low-lying farmland. The anglicised form appears more tautological as the word ''dale'' in English is used to describe any valley.
* Glen of Aherlow – a glen is a long, deep valley, while Aherlow is from the Irish ''eatharlach'', meaning "lowland between two mountains", i.e. a valley.
* Gobi Desert, Mongolia (Desert Desert – "Govi" is Mongolian language, Mongolian)
* Hill Holt Wood, England (hill wood wood �
Holt is wood in Anglo-Saxon
[Anglo-Saxon language, Anglo-Saxon
* Hvilftarhvilft, Iceland – (Cirque Cirque) The farm “Hvilft”, in Önundarfjörður, which means cirque, was named after the cirque in the mountain above it, and the cirque itself was then named after the farm.
* Inverarish (both Gaelic and Norse, doubly the mouth of a stream)
* Jiayuguan Pass – (Jiayu Pass Pass – Mandarin Chinese)
* Kaieteur Falls in Kaieteur National Park, Potaro-Siparuni, Potaro-Siparuni Region, Guyana – (Kai falls Falls – Patamona language)
* Khor Khwair, a neighborhood in Ras al-Khaima, U.A.E. (Creek Creek - Arabic)
* Kvinnherad, Kvinnherad kommune, Norway, (Kvinn municipality municipality - Nynorsk and Bokmål variations of Norwegian language, Norwegian)
* La Brea Tar Pits, The La Brea Tar Pits, California, United States (The The Tar Tar Pits – Spanish)
* Los Altos Hills, California (The foothills hills – Spanish)
* Metsalaane, village in Estonia (both ''metsa'' and ''laane'' mean "forest" in Estonian language, Estonian)
* Milky Way Galaxy* (Milky Way Milky — Greek; for this reason some scientists, such as the late Isaac Asimov, have argued that the Milky Way should be renamed the "Home Galaxy" or some such.)
* Minnehaha Falls, Minnesota, United States. Waterfall Falls – Dakota language, Dakota)
* Mount Midoriyama, the final stage of American Ninja Warrior (Mount Green Mountain – Japanese language, Japanese)
* Mull of Kintyre (Round Headland of Headland – Scottish Gaelic)
* Namib Desert (Desert Desert - Khoekhoegowab)
* Nathu La, Nathu La Pass, Sino-Indian border, (Listening Ears Pass Pass – Tibetic languages, Tibetan)
* Nesoddtangen, Norway, a triple tautology, consisting of three parts, ''nes'', ''odd'' and ''tangen'', all being synonyms signifying a small cape or promontory.
* East Nusa Tenggara, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia – (Eastern Southeastern Islands - Indonesian)
* Nyanza Lac, Burundi – ''Nyanza'' and ''lac'' are the Bantu and French words for "lake" respectively. This is a city, not a lake, though on the shore of Lake Tanganyika.
*The Passaic Valley, New Jersey, United States (The valley valley - Lenape language)
* Playalinda Beach, Florida, United States (Pretty beach beach – Spanish)
* Rue Avenue, Point Pleasant, New Jersey Although this is more likely named after the plant Ruta, rue.
* Sahara Desert*, Africa (Deserts desert – Arabic)
* Sharm Old Harbour (a common English name for the old harbour at Sharm el Sheikh) (harbour old harbour – Arabic)
* Skarðsskarð, Iceland (Pass's Pass: A mountain pass named after a farm which in turn is named after the pass to begin with.)
* South Australia (''Terra Australis, Australia'' being Latin for "southern land". Strictly, this is not a tautology for the same reason as for East Timor.)
* South Vietnam (
Nam
being Vietnamese language, Vietnamese'' for "south", although the official name was the Republic of Vietnam. Strictly, this is not a tautology for the same reason as for East Timor.)
* Swahili Coast, "Swahili" is an Arabic adjective meaning "coastal [dweller]".
* Tahunanui Beach, New Zealand (the Māori-language word ''tahuna'' can mean beach, shoal, or sandbank. ''Tahunanui Beach'' is thus 'Beach Big Beach').Reed, A.W. (1975). ''Place names of New Zealand''. Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed. p. 396
* Tappiyan Falls, Batad – waterfalls near the Banawe Rice Terraces in the Philippines – means Falls (in Ifugao language) Falls
*Tham Luang Nang Non, sometimes referred to as Tham Luang Cave (''Tham Luang'' means 'great cave,' so ''Tham Luang Cave'' means 'Great Cave Cave').
*Tipsoo Meadow, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, United States. ''Tipsoo'' means 'meadow' in Chinook Jargon.
* Traigh Beach (Beach beach - Scottish Gaelic)
* Waterford Harbour – the name "Waterford" derives from Old Norse ''Veðrafjǫrðr'', "Sheep, ram fjord", referring the natural harbour.
* Walden Woods, Massachusetts, United States – the name "Walden" derives from German language, German ''Wald'', meaning Woodland, woods or forest.
* Wookey Hole Caves - the name ''Wookey'' is derived from the Celtic languages, Celtic (Welsh language, Welsh) for 'cave', ''"Ogo"'' or ''"Ogof"'' which gave the early names for this cave of ''"Ochie"'' ''"Ochy"''. ''Hole'' is Anglo-Saxon for cave, which is itself of Latin/Norman derivation. Therefore, the name ''Wookey Hole Cave'' basically means ''cave cave cave''.

See also

* List of reduplicated place names
* Pleonasm#Bilingual tautological expressions, Bilingual tautological expressions
* List of people with reduplicated names
* Pleonasm
* RAS syndrome

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tautological place names
Lists of place name etymologies