These 6 countries secretly have the same name

Country names aren’t always unique in the world. Look on a world map and you’ll see 2 Koreas, 2 Congos, and a full 4 Guineas. But there are some examples that are more hidden. Specifically, there are many combinations of countries whose names might look different in English, but ultimately come from the same meaning. Let’s look at some international etymology buddies and see what we can find. Many country names have multiple candidate meanings, so we can’t be certain which meaning is the most common.1 But there’s one standout group that might span as many 6 countries across 3 continents: Botswana, France, Iran, Liberia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. All these countries’ names plausibly mean “land of the free”, through a few different linguistic routes. Liberia “Liberia” is the clearest to an English speaker, coming from Latin liber as in “liberty”. The name refers to Liberia’s origins as a colony for people freed from slavery in the United States – which is itself a wild story for…