Place Names

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

Genova, also known in English as Genoa, is a major port in Liguria, Italy. Its attractive sound — combining elements of Genevieve and Nova — means it has occasionally appeared on the baby name charts, though it is very rare.

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.

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.

Lovely Italian island name, Kardashian style.

Tokyo, the capital city of Japan, was given as a first name to two dozen girls and a handful of boys in 2022, popularized by a character in the popular Spanish Netflix crime drama La casa de papel / Money Heist.

Introduced to the baby name lexicon by Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick when they used it as the middle name for their daughter Penelope. As they've proven, it's a nouveau way to honor a Scott.

Luxor is just waiting to be discovered as a baby name. It has a lot going for it — an easy and fashionable nickname (hello, Lux!), unisex appeal, and a place name connection. Luxor is the modern-day name for the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes. It was derived from the Arabic term al-ʾuqṣur, referring to palaces or castles.

An extra feminized version of London, only recorded as a girl name in the US.

An unlikely place name today, but one that was found among enslaved people in the 1800s.

A town in Catalonia, sometimes used as a unisex name.

The Egyptian city of Luxor was the ancient city of Thebes, at one time the capital of Ancient Egypt. The name derives from the Arabic term al-ʾuqṣur, meaning "the palaces" or "castles."

Jakarta, the name of the capital and largest city of Indonesia, is located on the island of Java. Both Jakarta and Java could make interesting and unusual choices for a girl.

Chenoa is the Native American name for the Kentucky River. This name has come into prominence as the stage name of Argentine singer María Laura Corradini Falomir. In the US it is given to a handful of girls each year.

Similar in sound to Meredith, this could be an interesting choice for parents looking for a unique name. Merri is an obvious and appealing nickname.

Originally the name of a town in northern England, Airton and common variant Ayrton have taken on lives of their own as first names in Portugal and Brazil. This version is closely associated with Brazilian soccer player Airton Ribeiro Santos.

Asbury Park, a quirky town on the Jersey Shore, was named for Francis Asbury, the first American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Springsteen fans will likely be among those most drawn to Asbury as a first name; the Boss's first album was called "Greetings from Asbury Park."

Alaska is a state name that's gaining a following, along with Montana and Dakota. While it was used exclusively for girls in the 2020 US name statistics, there's no reason it can't work just as well for boys.