Place Names
- Wellington
Origin:
English surname from place nameMeaning:
"people living in the hamlet in the cleared area near the temple"Description:
Wellington is a tony-sounding English surname turned baby name by pregnancy guru Rosie Pope, who calls her son Wells for short. It's also the middle name of one of the Sweet Home sextuplets, Blu Wellington.
- French
Origin:
Surname, place name, word nameDescription:
A mash-up of popular name trends, French is all at once a place name, word name, and surname name. It's evocative of a favorite celebrity baby name fad of using nationalities as names as opposed to places, as in Mariah Carey's Moroccan.
- Turin
Origin:
Italian place nameDescription:
The name of an extremely civilized, wealthy city in the north of Italy merits more notice as a first name, a la Verona and Milan. It was used as one in the Canadian sci-fi series Killjoys.
- Dacian
Origin:
Ancient place nameDescription:
Dacia was an ancient region comprised of what is modern Romania and Moldova and smaller parts of other Eastern European countries. Its inhabitants were called the Dacians, and the Dacian Kingdom flourished around the time of Christ until it was toppled by the Romans. Daciana is the female version sometimes used in Romania.
- Aragon
Origin:
Spanish place nameDescription:
Equally strong, dramatic and romantic, this name of an old kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula and a modern Spanish community as well, would give a boy an instant pedigree.
- Londyn
Origin:
Spelling variation of London, place nameDescription:
Londyn is now a more popular name than the original London for girls. Some parents feel that varying the spelling nudges the name away from over-identification with the British capitol. Substituting a y for another vowel is also seen by some as more feminine. For boys, London is five times as popular as Londyn -- though both variations are far more popular for girls.
- Nazareth
Origin:
Hebrew place nameDescription:
Nazareth, an important place in the New Testament as the hometown of Jesus, is on the rise as a name for both girls and boys. It's one of a handful of Biblical place names, along with Galilee and Jericho, stylish among contemporary Christians.
- Euston
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"heart"Description:
Euston is best known as a London railway station, which got its name from a stately home and village in the English county of Suffolk. Ultimately it is thought to mean "settlement of a person called Efe". Unlike its Top 1000 soundalike Houston (as in Texas), Euston has never been recording on the charts.
- Africa
Origin:
Place name, various meaningsDescription:
Most Africas today would be named for the continent, but the name actually existed in Scotland in medieval times, where there was a Celtic queen named Affrica. Africa has also been a Spanish name for girls since 1421. The church of the Virgin "Nuestra Senora de Africa" is in Ceuta, the Spanish city she is Patron of, in North Africa.
- Mino
Origin:
Spanish place nameDescription:
Mino is traditionally a name for people born along Spain's Minho River or Rio Mino. It may be a surname or a first name.
- Lorca
Origin:
Spanish place name and surnameDescription:
The haunting Lorca is a place name from the Spanish province of Navarre, but far more famous as the surname of the eminent Spanish poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca, who was the direct inspiration for the name of Leonard Cohen's now-grown daughter Lorca.
- Lathan
Origin:
English surname or place nameDescription:
Lathan is a surname recorded as relating to the towns of Layton or Latham and meaning, depending on its derivation, barn or leek farm or farm by the water. As a first name, it's reminiscent of the popular Nathan.
- Chantilly
Origin:
French place nameMeaning:
"white"Description:
The name of a French city famous for its fine lace. Another association: Chantilly cream – a sweetened whipped cream apparently invented there in the 17th century by a chef at the Château de Chantilly. The town probably takes is name from the Gallo-Roman personal name Cantilius, derived from a word for "white".
- Zamzam
Origin:
Arabic place nameDescription:
Zamzam has to be the ultimate impact name. Despite all those Zs, Zamzam, is not a trendy modern invention by some rock star; in fact Zamzam derives from the Well of Zamzam, which is the holiest place in Mecca.
- Kensington
Origin:
Place nameDescription:
A posh area of London, as well as being a section of Brooklyn, Kensington would make an overly formal, butlerish boy's name. There are several preferable paths to the nickname Ken, including KENYON, KENDALL and KENNEDY.
- Colwyn
Origin:
Welsh place name / river nameDescription:
An example of the Welsh love of naming children after rivers and places. Colwyn is rare in the States but has genuine appeal: no hidden spelling traps, and similar-yet-different to names like Colton, Colson and Colin.
- Tilden
Origin:
English place nameMeaning:
"fertile valley"Description:
Tilden is mostly seen as a male name, but we love it just as much for a girl. It's an androgynous answer to Tilda, and still gets you the super-sweet nickname Tilly (or Tildy).
- Wales
Origin:
Place nameDescription:
Place names for boys are few and far between; this one would make a singular choice. Prince William of Wales uses this as a surname when required, as in his military life; Jimmy Wales is the entrepreneur behind Wikipedia, Clint Eastwood played the eponymous character Josey (!) Wales in the 1976 The Outlaw Josey Wales.
- Zanzibar
Origin:
Swahili place name from PersianMeaning:
"black coast"Description:
Zanzibar is an island region off the coast of Tanzania. It's never been recorded as a baby name, but for those with a connection to Zanzibar, it's an intriguing and unique option chock full of zesty Zs.
- Afton
Origin:
Scottish place nameDescription:
This Scottish town name sounds strong and modern on both boys and girls.