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 in English 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.

Headlands Cow Neck, Long Island, United States — when called Cow Neck Peninsula, as "neck" is a very common word for peninsula in Long Island and southern New England (see, for instance, neighboring Great Neck, New York). Broadneck, Maryland, United States — when called Broadneck Peninsula, for the same reason as Cow Neck above.

Rivers

Aabach (disambiguation page), several streams in Germany and Switzerland, "aa" means a course of water, and "bach" means a creek or stream. Amu Darya in Central Asia is sometimes referred to as the Amu Darya River which in Turkic languages would mean 'Amu River River'. The word "Darya" derives from Classical Persian word دریا which could mean both a sea or a river. 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)Victor Wadds, ed., The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place Names, 2004, s.n. river AVON 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) 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") Elbe (Low German "Elv"), Germany, from Norse elv / Swedish älv – "river" Fishkill Creek, Catskill 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). 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) Mardi Khola, Nepal - (rdi = stream or river in Khamkura & khola = same in Nepali) 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) Muvattupuzha River (also known as Muvattupuzhayar), Kerala, India – derived from the Malayalam words moo (three), aattu/aaru (river), puzha (river), and aar (river), literally translating to Three River River River. 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) Fiume Potamo, a tributary of Mesima (it) in Calabria, Italy – "Potamos" is a Greek word for "river" (see Mesopotamia – "the land between the rivers") 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) 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, Romania – uj meant "body of water" in Cuman 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 — winterbourne meaning a stream that flows only 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"). 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, Owenkillew River. 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., cited in Bird (2006) 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).Reed, A.W. (1975). Place names of New Zealand. Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed. pp. 442ff

Lakes and other bodies of water Republic of Karelia, Russia contains several lakes named Ozero ...ozero ('Lake ...-lake' in Russian), or Ozero ...yarvi ('Lake ...-lake' in Russian and Karelian). 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 Kannada 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'. La Cocha lagoon, Colombia – cocha is Quechua for 'lagoon'. 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 Barkol, China (‘Tiger lake lake’) – Likely from Turkic bars (tiger) and köl (lake). Lake Cargelligo, Australia ('Lake lake' – From the local Wiradjuri language Cudgellico, meaning 'lake'. Lake Chad, Chad ('Lake lake' – Bornu word tsade: "lake") Lake Danao (Leyte) and Lake Danao (Negros), Philippines ('Lake Lake' – Cebuano)