Place Names

An ethereal name with elements of Irene and Miriam, Irian is a woman/dragon character in Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea novels, and a historic name for the island of New Guinea, now with colonial associations.

Mosley has seen a handful of uses — mostly among baby girls — since 2012, the year after Peyton Manning gave it to his daughter. It's much more familiar as a surname, such as that of novelist Walter Mosley.

A pretty town in Scotland, named for its perfect horseshoe-shaped bay.

This name of an attractive and arty California town could make an unusual but friendly choice.

The state capital of Tennessee — and the capital of country music — has seen some use for boys in recent years, now that more parents are daring to use meaningful place names. While not as popular as Memphis, Nashville has a cool, laid-back charm... and has the option of Nash as a nickname.

The meaning of the place name Berian, in Pembrokeshire, is not known, but it may mean "plain" or "burial place". It would make an interesting -ian ending option for lovers of names like Julian and Adrian who want something a bit more off-the-beaten-track.

Arfon is a centuries-old name the area of north-west Wales closest to Anglesey (in Welsh, Môn), so its name literally means "facing Anglesey". Its main town is Caernarfon, "fortress in Arfon". It is sometimes used as a local pride name by parents with a connection to the area.

This Basque name, which derives the name of a small town, is less well known than its diminutive version Arantxa. The name comes from the Basque word aratza meaning thornbush.

Larsa was the name of a city-state in Sumer, an ancient Mesopotamian civilization. It is occasionally used as a baby name in Arabic-speaking cultures, as well as in Sweden, where Larsa is a feminization of Lars.

This country name has come into steady use for girls in recent decades, and it's occasionally given to boys too. With interest in other -land names like Leland and Roland, we can see this patriotic heritage choice becoming more gender-balanced.

Arley is a fast-rising surname-name for girls, and Arlington isn't far behind.

A preppy surname and place name derived from the Anglo-Saxon personal name Ælfweard "elf guardian" + the -by suffix, meaning "village, homestead". Ellerby feels like a quirkier Ellery or Emery.

Despite its similarity to Game of Thrones' Tywin Lannister, Tywyn is a genuine Welsh town name meaning "sand dune" or "sea shore".

Saima derives from Saimaa, the name of Finland's largest lake. It was also the name of a 19th-century Finnish nationalist newspaper.

The name of a city in New Hampshire which takes its name from the Nashua River, named by the Indigenous Algonquian tribe the Nashuway or Nashua. A striking alternative to Joshua.

With its trendy -o ending and connotations of luxury, we think the name of one of the smallest and wealthiest countries in the world has rich baby name potential.

Variant of Blake, borne by the great jazz drummer Art Blakey.

The name of a port town in Maine, named after the birthplace of one of its founders Alexander Shapleigh, of Kittery Court, Devon, England.

A preppy surname and place name derived from the Anglo-Saxon personal name Ælfweard "elf guardian" + the -by suffix, meaning "village, homestead". Ellerby feels like a quirkier Ellery or Emery.

A picturesque city in eastern France that would make an unusual and stylish addition to the list of place names off the map.