Where does “Саранск” come from?

Саранск (Russian) comes from Russian -ск, from Proto-Slavic -ьskъ, from Proto-Indo-European -iskos — Characteristic of, typical of, pertaining to.

Ancestry of “Саранск”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Russian-скA suffix used in place names
2Proto-Slavic-ьskъ-ic, -ish
3Proto-Indo-European-iskosCharacteristic of, typical of, pertaining to
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -iskos →Every word from Proto-Slavic -ьskъ →Every word from Russian -ск →