Gomel, Belarus

Gomel (Russian: Гомель, IPA: [ˈɡomʲɪlʲ]) or Homiel (Belarusian: Гомель, IPA: [ˈɣomʲelʲ]) is the administrative centre of Gomel Region and the second-largest city in Belarus with 526,872 inhabitants (2015 census).

There are at least six narratives of the origin of the city's name. The most plausible is that the name is derived from the name of the stream Homeyuk, which flowed into the river Sozh near the foot of the hill where the first settlement was founded. Names of other Belarusian cities are formed along these lines: for example, the name Minsk is derived from the river Menka, Polotsk from the river Palata, and Vitebsk from the river Vitsba.