地名
ちめい · chimei · JLPT N2 · noun
place name
🗺️ 地 = earth + 名 = name, so 地名 = earth name = place name
地 (chi) means earth or ground, and 名 (mei) means name. Put them together and you get the name of a spot on the earth, which is a place name.
地 — earth 土 + 也 (phonetic)
地 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left component 土 means 'earth' or 'soil' and gives the meaning, while 也 on the right hints at the pronunciation. Originally referring to the ground or land, it broadened to mean 'place,' 'region,' and 'territory.'
名 — evening 夕 + mouth 口
A compound ideograph: in the dark of evening (夕), one cannot recognize others by sight, so the mouth (口) calls out a name to identify oneself. The original sense of 'name' broadened to include reputation, fame, and a measure word for people.