The first places that needed Latin names were encountered by Bible translators, who had a need to figure out what to call the many place names in the Bible in Latin. They either reworked the place names into Latin or Greek shapes; in one version, Jerusalem becomes Hierosolyma. Or, they adopted them directly, often treating the new place names as indeclinable nouns; here Jerusalem is brought over as Ierusalem.

Similar strategies are used with United States and North America and other place names that Latin writers needed to give Latin names to. A number of methods are used:

• A classical ending such as -um or -a is added or substituted on the end of the source word. Hence Baltimorum for "Baltimore," Albania for "Albany."
• The words already fit into Latin declensions, as do Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Atlanta.
• Calques are resorted to if the New World name is based on an Old World name; the various Parises in the United States are likely to become Lutetia, and Novum Eboracum or Neo-Eboracum represents New York, because Eboracum is the city of York in England.
• The words are respelled to eliminate non-Latin sounds; hence Washington becomes Vasingtonium.
• The words are adjusted to fit Latin declensions; Kansas appears as either Cansas, Cansatis or Cansa, Cansae; Chicago, Ohio, and Idaho become consonant stems, with genitives Chicagonis, Ohionis, Idahonis, &c.
• The words are re-interpreted to fit Latin declensions; Illinois is treated as a third-declension noun.
• The words are treated as indeclinable, like some Biblical names; Connecticut is sometimes treated this way.

• There are latin forms of Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, and other Oceanian-South Pacific communities as well.
• One example is London, Ontario which can be translateable to Londinium in Latin, while the rest of the other non-Latin languages like Greek and French for other Londons that are not London, England is spelt "London" (from English).

• This list includes Azerbaijan, Kurdistan southeast of Arbil, Abkhazia, Chechnya, Tatarstan, Dagestan, Malta and Pantelleria, and the whole of Kazakhstan, and Russia east of the ural mountains.

• or Novo Londinio

• 1 - Latinized form of the Greek-derived name.
• 2 - Latinized form of a Hebrew derived name
• 3 - Latinized form of an Amerindian languages-derived name.
• 4 - only polis is a Greek derived name.

See also:

• List of Roman place names in Britain
• Latin names of European cities
• Latin names of European rivers
• Latin names of geographical features
• Latin names of islands
• Latin names of lakes
• Latin names of mountains
• Latin names of regions
• Latin names of rivers
• Roman place names