Place Names
- Alessandria
Origin:
Italian place nameDescription:
While many will see this as a alternate version of more popular Alexandria and Alessandra -- and some parents may indeed intend it as such -- it is also the name of a province and city in northwest Italy. Just 12 baby girls in the U.S. were given the name Alessandria in 2016.
- Nineveh
Origin:
Biblical place name from Akkadian or BabylonianMeaning:
"house of fish"Description:
An ancient city in Assyria, where Jonah was sent to spread the word of God.
- Venice
Origin:
Italian place nameDescription:
This name of one of the most romantic cities in the world could easily find its way onto an American baby boy's birth certificate. You could also think of it as a fun, atlas-inspired twist on Denis.
- Chicago
Origin:
American place name, AlgonquinMeaning:
"wild garlic"Description:
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian have done it again for their third child: Chosen a name that feels iconic yet strangely inevitable. They named North and Saint's younger sister Chicago, after Kanye's hometown. The name Chicago derives from a Native American word for "wild garlic," which once grew plentifully in the Illinois city, the third most populous in the US.
- Manila
Origin:
Place nameDescription:
The name of the capital city of the Philippines is just conceivable as a baby name, giving off the faint scent of vanilla.
- Tiree
Origin:
Place nameMeaning:
"Land of corn"Description:
Tiree is the anglicised name of the Scottish island of Tiriodh in the Inner Hebrides. It’s known as Scotland’s "sunshine isle", benefiting from an uncharacteristically warm and sunny climate and beautiful beaches which are popular with surfers and windsurfers. As a given name, Tiree is in rare but regular use in Scotland, England and Wales.
- Prideaux
Origin:
Cornish place nameMeaning:
"meadow of waters"Description:
Prideaux is a Cornish place name and surname that is occasionally attested as a girls' first name. It likely stems from the French phrase "pré de eaux", meaning meadow of waters. For fans of Margaux, Prideaux might be a less-common and very pretty alternative.
- Tauria
Origin:
Latin, place nameDescription:
The name of an area of Peru, this could be a possibilty for a springtime baby born under the sign of Taurus.
- Detroit
Origin:
Place nameDescription:
Detroit, the name of the down-on-its-heels Michigan city, has a so-far-out-it's-gotta-be-cool quality. A handful of boys were named Detroit last year, and if you have ties to the Motor City -- familial or musical -- you may want to consider it, especially as a middle name.
- Arbel
Origin:
Hebrew place nameDescription:
A popular Israeli baby name inspired by Mount Arbel in the north, which overlooks the Sea of Galilee.
- Palmyra
Origin:
Greek, place nameDescription:
An ancient city in modern-day Syria, which occasionally makes the roster of girl names. Its etymology is uncertain — locally it is called Tadmor, and Palmyra is the Greek version — but it has traditionally been associated with palm trees.
- Hawaii
Origin:
Proto-Polynesian place nameMeaning:
"place of the gods"Description:
Evocative of the lush islands, Hawaii is a place name that will transport you — at least in spirit.
- Lexington
Origin:
English place nameDescription:
Lexington is trending as a unisex name, used just about evenly for the genders. For Americans, it's got a patriotic feel, given the importance of Lexington, Massachusetts in the Revolutionary War. Lexington, Kentucky, in horse country, is another well-known city with the name. Short form Lex is user friendly.
- Fife
Origin:
ScottishMeaning:
"place name"Description:
Musical choice that might work great in the middle. Alternative in all its forms, Fife and sister name Fifer are Scottish names for girls that can make a new twist on Piper.
- Atlanta
Origin:
Place nameMeaning:
"Atlantic Ocean"Description:
The capital of Georgia is far from the ocean, but got its name from the Western and Atlantic Railroad which ran through the city. Best known as a hub of industry and transport, and for its roles in the Civil War and Civil Rights Movement, it has never been popular as a baby name despite sounding like one. Its peak popularity was in 1995, the year before Atlanta hosted the Olympic Games.
- Monaco
Origin:
Place nameDescription:
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. Jeannie Mai Jenkins and Jeezy used it for their daughter, born in 2022, which may have contributed to the debut of Monaco as a girl's name in the US charts the same year.
- Veryan
Origin:
Cornish place nameMeaning:
"accompany, bring together"Description:
The name of a beautiful village on the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall, Veryan actually derives from a series of misunderstandings: Sen Veryan ("Saint Veryan") is a Cornish corruption of Severian, which is itself a corrupted form of the saint’s name Symphorian, to whom the village church at Veryan is dedicated.
- Imari
Origin:
American invented name, Japanese place nameDescription:
A novel creation in the vein of Amari and Akari. Imari is also a place name, connected to the Japanese city, and is the English term for Arita porcelain.
- Basel
Origin:
Swiss place nameMeaning:
"king"Description:
The Swiss city of Basel was first Basilia, thought to have been dubbed in honor of the Roman castle of the same name. The castle's name would have derived from Basilius, a Roman personal name from which the name Basil also originated.
- Bethlehem
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"house of bread"Description:
The Spanish name Belén is a well-established girl name, but parents have been slower to use the English equivalent. It is beginning to come into wider use, along with other New Testament place names like Galilee and Nazareth.