Place Names

Athens is one of the newer place names, used for both baby boys and girls. The Greek city got its name from Athena, goddess of wisdom and courage.

The New Jersey cities of Camden and Trenton are in, but the name of the state has not caught on to anywhere near the same extent, possibly due to its association with knitted pullovers and reality TV. Nevertheless, Jersey peaked as a masculine name in 2022, when it was given to around 60 boys.

Most frequently seen as a surname of those with Italian or Spanish heritage. The Italian variation is a habitational surname denoting ancestors from the town of Revello, while the Catalan (sometimes spelled Revelló) derives from revell, meaning "wild olive tree."

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.

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.

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.

In America, it is inextricable from the popular '90s line dance, but Macarena is a traditional feminine name in Spain. It is used in honor of the Virgin of Hope of Macarena, an epithet of the Virgin Mary. Macarena is also the name of a hip neighborhood in Seville.

Among the least gimmicky, most appealing and colorful of all the names found in the atlas, Jamaica almost sings out the rhythms of the West Indies.

This was the old name for ancient Armenia, land of canyons.

In the Bible, Elim is an oasis where the Israelites stopped during their Exodus from Egypt. It is a place of plenty representing the natural blessings of God, with twelve springs of fresh water and seventy date palm trees to provide food and shade.

Athens the city takes its name from Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and courage. If you prefer place names to mythological names and like gender neutral names better than those that are gender distinct, Athens may be a good alternative to Athena.

Oceania is one of the most elaborate of the trending Ocean-related names. Oceania also refers to the area of the world including Australia and neighboring islands.

Lexington is rising as a place name used just about evenly for the genders. For Americans, it's got a patriotic ring, given the importance of Lexington, Massachusetts in the Revolutionary War. Lexington, Kentucky, in horse country, is another famous place with the name.

One five-letter name, a quick suffix away from David, with two very different connotations. It's the name of a posh ski resort in Switzerland that hosts the illustrious World Economic Forum -- attended by tycoons, celebrities and heads of state -- each year. And of a trustworthy, salt-of-the-earth character in Game of Thrones, Davos Seaworth.

Trilby was used first for a character by French novelist Charles Nodier (1822) and made more famous by writer George du Maurier in an 1894 work. A Trilby hat, which Du Maurier's character wore, is a short-brimmed fedora of the kind recently revived by hipsters. Du Maurier's character Trilby fell under the hypnotic power of Svengali: not the best choice for an independent and self-determining daughter. Still, if you want a unisex name that moves far beyond the usual Taylor and Morgan and has energy and feminine verve, Trilby might well be your girl.

Venkata is one of the seven peaks of the Tirumala Hills in India. As a result of the temple on this hill, Venkata is connected to the god Vishnu. Venkata is also the name of the protagonist in the 2009 film Venkata in Senkata as well as Nobel prize winner Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman.

Leyre is an important name in Navarre, Spain, as it is both the name of a mountain and an ancient monastery. It is derived from the Basque Leire, of uncertain origins. Both spellings currently rank among the Top 100 baby names in Spain.

More accessible than some of the more distant names in the atlas, Canton fits into the category of the no-nonsense, new-sounding boys' names many parents are looking at.

A distinguished-sounding place name with a cool, positive "win" sound. The original Winchester was the capital of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex.