<![CDATA[Place naming is an aspect of language use that represents the relationship between humans, the environment, and culture. Within a community, place names serve not only as geographical markers but also embody meanings that reflect the community's worldview and experiences. Over time, the meanings embedded in place names tend to shift and risk being overlooked. This study aims to examine the lexical and cultural meanings of village names in Kebumen Regency and to identify their naming characteristics. A qualitative descriptive method was employed, utilizing theoretical frameworks from toponymy and semantics. The data consisted of village names from the Alian and Karangsambung Districts. Primary data sources included the official Kebumen Regency Government website and informants knowledgeable about the history and background of the village names, while secondary sources comprised village archives, books, and relevant scholarly articles. Data collection involved document analysis and interviews, supported by recording and note-taking techniques. Data analysis followed the Miles & Huberman model, encompassing data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings reveal that all the village names possess both lexical and cultural meanings. Lexical meanings relate to the fundamental definitions of the name's constituent elements referring to natural conditions, flora, fauna, objects, or human activities whereas cultural meanings reflect the community's relationship with the environment, as well as their experiences, beliefs, and aspirations. Furthermore, the characteristics of village names based on Stewart's typology found five naming categories: descriptive names, incident names, commemorative names, euphemistic names, and folk etymology.]]>
