Online Etymology Dictionary

Frobelian: in reference to kindergarten, 1873 in English, from name of German philosopher and education reformer Friedrich Fröbel (1782-1852) + -ian.
geneva (n.): 1706, alteration (by influence of the Swiss city name) of Dutch genevre, French genière (see gin (n.1)).
whitefish (n.): collective name for cod, haddock, hake, sole, etc., mid-15c., from white (adj.) + fish (n.).
Wolof (n.): African people of Senegal and Gambia. Also the name of the Niger-Congo language they speak.
Zephaniah: masc. proper name, Biblical ninth of the prophets, from Hebrew Tzephanyah "the Lord has hidden."
Eliac (adj.): "pertaining to Elis," city in the Peloponnesus. The place name is of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Greek helos "marsh."
en (n.): name of the letter "N;" in printing (1793), a space half as wide as an em.
Jinny: also Ginny, fem. proper name, originally a diminutive of Jane, and like Jenny it also was used of machinery.
Gradgrind (n.): "cold, factual person," from the name of the mill-owner in Dickens' "Hard Times" (1854).
Karelia: region in Finland and Russia, so-called from the people's name, which is perhaps from Finnish karja "herd" in reference to herdsmen.
Kyrgyz: also Kirghiz, Turkic people of western Central Asia, 1650s; their name is of disputed origin.
larrikin (n.): "street tough, rowdy," 1868, Australia and New Zealand, of unknown origin; perhaps somehow from the masc. proper name Larry.
Lassa: 1970 in reference to a febrile disease of tropical Africa, from Lassa, name of a village in northeastern Nigeria.
Hanafi: Sunni school or sect in Islam, from Arabic, from the name of founder Abu Hanifah of Kufa (c. 700-770).
Hanbali: Sunni school or sect in Islam, from Arabic, from the name of founder Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780-855).
Leica: 1925, proprietary name of cameras made by firm of Ernst & Leitz Gesellschaft, Wetzlar, Germany. From Leitz + ca(mera).
Lernaean: also Lernean, from Latin Lernaeus, from Greek Lernaios, from Lerne, name of a marshy district and lake in Argolis, home of the Lernaean hydra.
Lemnos: Greek island, the name is believed to be of Phoenician origin, from Semitic root l-b-n "white." Related: Lemnian.
Lionel: masc. proper name, from French, literally "young lion" (see lion), from Old French lionel, also lioncel.
Ingrid: fem. proper name, Scandinavian or German, from Ing, Germanic god-name (Old Norse Yngvi, Old English Ingwine), apparently an earlier name of Freyr. He was associated with prosperity, virility, and fertility. Second element in the name is either friðr "fair, beautiful" or rida "to ride." As a given name for girls in the U.S., almost unknown before 1940 (about the time Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman rose to fame in Hollywood); it was most popular in 1960s and early '70s but never common.
badminton (n.): 1874, from Badminton House, name of Gloucestershire estate of the Duke of Beaufort, where the game first was played in England, mid-19c., having been picked up by British officers from Indian poona. The place name is Old English Badimyncgtun (972), "estate of (a man called) Baduhelm."
Baldwin: masc. proper name, from Old French Baldoin (Modern French Baudouin), from a Germanic source similar to Old High German Baldawin, literally "bold friend," from bald "bold" (see bold) + wini "friend" (see win). A popular Flemish name, common in England before and after the Conquest.
Daniel: proper name, Hebrew, literally "God is my judge;" related to Dan, literally "he who judges," the tribe descended from Jacob's son of that name in Old Testament. Consistently in the top 15 names for boys born in the U.S. from 1972 through 2008.
Abyssinia (n.): old name for Ethiopia, 1630s, from Modern Latin Abyssinia, from Arabic Habasah, the name for the region, said to be from Amharic hbsh "mixed," in reference to the different races dwelling there. In 1920s-30s popular as a slang pun for "I'll be seeing you." Related: Abyssinian.
cactus (n.): c. 1600, from Latin cactus "cardoon," from Greek kaktos, name of a type of prickly plant of Sicily (the Spanish artichoke), perhaps of pre-Hellenic origin. Modern meaning is 18c., because Linnaeus gave the name to a group of plants he thought were related to this but are not.
Hallstatt: 1866 in reference to an Iron Age civilization of Europe, from the name of a village in Upper Austria, where implements from this period were found. The Germanic name is literally "place of salt," in reference to ancient salt mines there, which preserved the bodies of the original miners.
Edam (adj.): 1836, type of cheese named for Edam, village in Holland where it was originally made. The place name is literally "the dam on the River Ye," which flows into the Ijsselmeer there, and the river name is literally "river" (see ea).
Jason: masc. proper name, from Greek Eason, from Hebrew Yehoshua, a common name among Hellenistic Jews (see Joshua). In Greek mythology, son of Aeson, leader of the Argonauts, from Latin Jason, from Greek Iason, perhaps related to iasthai "to heal" (see -iatric). The names were somewhat merged in Christian Greek.
Jennifer: fem. proper name, from Welsh Gwenhwyvar, from gwen "fair, white" + (g)wyf "smooth, yielding." The most popular name for girls born in America 1970-1984; all but unknown there before 1938. Also attested as a surname from late 13c.
Magdalene: fem. proper name, from Latin (Maria) Magdalena, from Greek Magdalene, literally "woman of Magdala," from Aramaic Maghdela, place on the Sea of Galilee, literally "tower." The vernacular form of the name, via French, has come to English as maudlin.
pumpernickel (n.): "dark rye bread," 1756, pompernickel, from German (Westphalian dialect) Pumpernickel (1663), originally an abusive nickname for a stupid person, from pumpern "to break wind" + Nickel "goblin, lout, rascal," from proper name Niklaus (see Nicholas). An earlier German name for it was krankbrot, literally "sick-bread."
tam-o'-shanter (n.): c. 1840, type of bonnet formerly worn by Scottish plowmen, from Tam O'Shanter "Tom of Shanter," name of hero in a poem of the same name by Robert Burns, written 1790. The woolen cap became fashionable for ladies c. 1887.
Gerald: masc. proper name, introduced into England by the Normans, from Old French Giralt, from Old High German Gerwald, "spear-wielder," from Proto-Germanic *girald, from *ger "spear" (see gar) + base of waltan "to rule" (cognate with Old English wealdan; see wield). The name often was confused with Gerard.
Gibraltar: 1590s, ancient Calpe, captured 710 C.E. by Saracen leader Tariq, renamed Jebel el Tarik "the Mountain of Tarik," hence the English name. A British possession since 1704. Figurative of impregnability by 1856. Formerly also the name of a kind of rock-candy (1831).
Della Crusca: 1796, from Italian Accademia della Crusca, literally "Academy of the Chaff," "the name of an Academy established at Florence in 1582, mainly with the object of sifting and purifying the Italian language; whence its name, and its emblem, a sieve" [OED].
Harold: masc. proper name, Old Norse Haraldr, Old Danish, Old Swedish Harald, from Proto-Germanic *harja-waldaz "army commander." For first element, see harry; second element is related to Proto-Germanic *waldan, source of Old English wealdan (see wield). The name shares an etymology with herald (n.).
Batavia: former name of Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, when it was the Dutch East Indies, a colony of the Netherlands; from Batavia, an ancient name for a region of Holland, from Latin Batavi, a people who dwelt between the Rhine and the Waal on the island of Betawe.
Vichy (adj.): in reference to collaborationist government of France, 1940, from the name of the city in department of Allier in central France, famous for mineral springs, seat 1940-44 of the French government formed under Nazi occupation and headed by Pétain. The place name is of uncertain origin.
Manhattan: main island of New York City, from Dutch, from a native name, perhaps representing a Delaware (Algonquian) source akin to Munsee munahan "island." Bright favors Munsee /e:nta menahahte:nk/ "where one gathers bows." As the name of a cocktail made of vermouth, whiskey, and a dash of bitters, it is attested from 1890 (in Manhattan cocktail).
Chantilly: town in France near Paris; as a kind of porcelain made there, 1774; in reference to a delicate lace originally made there, 1831. The place name is Medieval Latin Chantileium, from the Gallo-Roman personal name Cantilius.
Chautauqua: "assembly for popular education," 1873, from town in New York, U.S., where an annual Methodist summer colony featured lectures. The name is from ja'dahgweh, a Seneca (Iroquoian) name, possibly "one has taken out fish there," but an alternative suggested meaning is "raised body."
Aleut: native of the Aleutian Islands, 1780, of unknown origin, probably from a native word. First applied by Russian explorers c. 1750, perhaps from Alut, name of a coastal village in Kamchatka [Bright]. Their name for themselves is unangax.
Niobe: in Greek mythology, a queen of Thebes, daughter of Tantalus, changed to a stone while weeping for her children (slain, after she boasted of them overmuch, by Artemis and Apollo); hence the name is used figuratively for bereavement and woe. The name is said to mean literally "snowy; snowy-bright."
Heinie (n.): also Heine, Hiney, 1904 as a typical name of a German man, North American slang, from pet form of common German masc. proper name Heinrich (see Henry). Brought to Europe in World War I by Canadian soldiers (British soldiers called the adversary Fritz).
Hibernia: from Latin Hibernia, the Roman name for Ireland, also in forms Iverna, Juverna, Ierne, etc., all ultimately from Old Celtic *Iveriu "Ireland" (see Irish (n.)). This particular form of the name was altered in Latin as though it meant "land of winter" (see hibernation).
Ephraim: masc. personal name, in Old Testament the younger son of Joseph, also the name of the tribe descended from him, and sometimes used figuratively for "Kingdom of Israel;" Greek form of Hebrew Ephrayim, a derivative of parah "was fruitful" (related to Aramaic pera "fruit").
termagant (n.): c. 1500, "violent, overbearing person" (especially of women), from Teruagant, Teruagaunt (c. 1200), name of a fictitious Muslim deity appearing in medieval morality plays, from Old French Tervagant, a proper name in Chanson de Roland (c. 1100), of uncertain origin. As an adjective from 1590s.
nomination (n.): early 15c., "act of mentioning by name," from Middle French nomination (14c.), and directly from Latin nominationem (nominative nominatio) "a naming, designation," from nominare "to name" (see nominate (v.)). Meaning "fact of being proposed as a candidate" is attested from late 15c.
Paul: masc. proper name, Biblical name of the apostle to the Gentiles, from Latin Paulum (nominative Paulus), Roman surname of the Aemilian gens, literally "small," from PIE *pau-ro-lo-, from base *pau- (1) "few, little" (see few). Other forms include Old French Pol, Italian Paolo, Spanish Pablo, Russian Pavel.
Osage: name of a group of Siouxan Indians originally from Missouri, 1690s, via French, from their self-designation Wazhazhe. The ornamental tree osage orange (Toxylon pomiferum), name first attested 1817, originally was found in their country.