Oikonyms in Western, Central, South, and Southeast Asia can be grouped according to various components, reflecting common linguistic and cultural histories. Toponymic study is not as extensive as it is for placenames in Europe and Anglophone parts of the world, but the origins of many placenames can be determined with a fair degree of certainty. One complexity to the study when discussing it in English is that the Romanization of names, during British rule and otherwise, from other languages has not been consistent.
Common affixes
Common affixes used in South Asian oikonyms can be grouped based on their linguistic origin: (with examples from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and elsewhere such as in Sanskrit-influenced Indonesia):
- Dravidian:
- wal, wali, wala, vli, , vali and palli
- hamlet — e.g. Dombivli; Kasan Wala; Sandhilianwali
- Indo-Aryan:
- Alay
- Abode from Sanskrit ā-laya. e.g. Meghalaya, Lokā-laya (settlement).
- Desh
- village, land, country, from Sanskrit देश (desa) for “country” — e.g. Bangladesh. In Indonesia it becomes Desa which is another Indonesian word for “village”.
- Nagar
- city, land, country, village, from Sanskrit नगर (nagara) — e.g. Ahmednagar. In Indonesian, the word Negara means “country” and the word Nagari is a term used in West Sumatra referring to “village”.
- Pur
- village, town, state, country from Sanskrit पुर (pura) — e.g. Jamalpur; Kanpur; Khanpur; Janakpur, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Udaipur. In Southeast Asian countries, it is known as pura, e.g. Singapura, and Indonesian cities such as Jayapura, Siak Sri Indrapura, Amlapura, Sangkapura, Semarapura, etc. In Indonesia, pura also refers to a Hindu temple.
- Pind
- literally “lump” or a small altar of sand
- Garh
- fortress — Chandigarh
- Kot
- fort — Pathankot; Sialkot
- Patnam, patham, pattana
- city, or “city of” — e.g. Visakhapatnam
- Persian or Arabic:
- Abad (آباد)
- “dwelling of” or “town of”, combined with a person’s or group’s name (usually the founder or primary inhabitant(s)) — e.g. Ahmedabad; Ordubad; Shirabad; Islamabad; Khorramabad; Mirza Abad. Being a generic and an ambiguous term referring to small isolated farms, village (but not city) on one hand, and towns and cities, on the other hand. See also abadi (settlement).
- Mazar
- (in various languages) shrine, grave, tomb, etc. (from wikt:مزار), cf. “Mazar (mausoleum)”. The placename usually refers to a grave of a saint, ruler, etc.: Mazar-i-Sharif; see All pages with titles containing Mazar
- Mazra or Majra
- hamlet, also “farm” (wikt:مزرعة, /maz.ra.ʕa/), “field” (wikt:مزرع, /maz.raʕ/)
- Shahr, shehr
- city — e.g. Bulandshahr
- Kale, Kaleh, Qala, Qalat, Qila
- fort, fortres, castle; see also “Qalat (fortress)”
- Ganj, gunj, gunge
- Persian-Urdu, taken to mean neighborhood in Indian context.
- Basti
- a granted habitat, also sanctuary from the Persian suffix, bastī— e.g. Basti Maluk, Azam Basti,
- Nahri
- (irrigation) canal
- Nahr
- wikt:نهر, river, e.g., Nahr-e Mian; see All pages with titles containing Nahr-e
- Dera
- tent — e.g. Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan
- Stan, Estan
- “a place abounding in…”, “place of…” — e.g. Afghanistan; Pakistan