What’s in a name: The most beautiful sounding city names around the world

Here, we’ll be revealing:

• The UK's most beautiful city names
• The most beautiful city names around the world

Great Britain derives from the Latin Britannia or Brittānia, meaning ‘the land of the Britons’. Romans dubbed the British Isles ‘Britannia’ as early as the 1st century BC, a term inspired by travel writings documented by Pytheas in 320 BC.

The nation boasts a wide variety of cities, each with their own personality and local spirit. But which cities lucked out when getting named and are the most beautiful to pronounce?

It seems the Scots are leading the way, with Glasgow ranking as the most beautiful sounding city name in the UK, as well as the seventh spot globally. The city’s etymology is Brittonic, with ‘glas’ representing grey hues of blue and green and ‘hollow’ which is thought to refer to a green-hollow gorge near the city’s cathedral. Perhaps this is why the city is affectionately referred to as ‘dear green place’, a Gaelic translation.

Liverpool follows in second place, also taking the joint 11th spot alongside Vienna in the global rankings. The city’s name originates from the Old English word ‘lifer’, meaning thick or muddy, and ‘pol’ for pool or creek. First recordings of the city’s name come from 1190, when it was called ‘Liuerpul’.

We move over to Northern Ireland to round off the top three, where Belfast takes pride of place in the phonetical rankings. Its Irish name, ‘Béal Feirste’, which means ‘the mouth of sandbar’, was Anglicised by Sir Arthur Chichester, who dubbed it ‘Belfast’, which we still use today!

Scottish city and the nation’s capital, Edinburgh, joins Glasgow in the top 10, while the Welsh capital Cardiff is the only city from Wales to feature.

Manchester completes the northern cities in the top spots – fun fact, its original Roman name ‘Mamucium’ actually means ‘breast-like hill’!

Travelling further south, university cities Cambridge (sixth) and Oxford (10th) are among the most beautiful sounding, with London taking the eighth spot.

London, known as ‘Londinium’ in Roman Latin, founded itself as a commercial and economic centre as early as the first century CE. However, the origins of the name are ambiguous, with multiple theories surrounding the city’s etymology. One theory suggests the name derives from King Lund, who once ruled there. Others suggest that the Brittonic form ‘Londonjon’, which has Celtic origin, is more likely. 

We also wanted to look further afield to find the most beautiful city names around the globe – and the results are fascinating!

Tokyo takes the top spot globally and can officially be crowned the world’s most beautiful sounding city. Originally formed as ‘Edo’ which is Kanji for cove and gate or door, the land was home to a small fishing village, which met at the Sumida River and Tokyo Bay. The city became the imperial capital in 1868 and was renamed ‘Tokyo’.

Sticking with cities in Asia, the bustling Indian city of Mumbai ranks in second place. Originally named after a patron Hindu Goddess of the local Koli community, Mumbadevi, the city can also stand for ‘mother’. Mumbai was previously called Bombay but was renamed in 1995 to settle on a more traditional Indian name, rather than one with more British influence.

Moving over to North America, Vancouver rounds off the top three; its name originally comes from George Vancouver, a British explorer with a name of Dutch origin, who arrived there in 1792.

Completing the top five is the second Japanese city in the rankings, Kyoto (fourth) and the first African city, Nairobi (fifth). Meanwhile, Jaipur joins Mumbai as the only other Indian city (13th) in the top 15, and the fourth and final Asian city.

Asia, Europe, and Africa tie as the continents with highest number of beautiful sounding city names, all boasting four pleasing city names. European cities to rank include Glasgow (seventh) and Liverpool - the latter of which ties with Vienna in 11th - and the Norwegian capital of Oslo, which just makes the top 10. 

If our research into the world’s most beautiful city names has inspired a little wanderlust and you’re ready to travel to one of these stunning locations, check out our city travel guides for cultural and historical inspiration when planning your trip.