Names That Mean Place

A utopia is the concept of a perfect society — a lot to live up to as a baby name! Despite that, Utopia was used for a string of years in the late '70s and early '80s. However, it has never been given to more than eight baby girls in a single year.

As Ashley becomes one of today's "mom names" thanks to its popularity amongst millennial-borns, Ashton is a fresh alternative. This particular spelling is nearly completely equally split between girls and boys in 2022.

An obscurity, though with the popularity of Abigail and the rise of all names that start with A, may make an attractive choice.

Lisa Loeb used this intriguing name as the middle for her son Emet.

A city name that sounds more legit than most because of its similarity to Peyton and other such names in circulation.

Brixton is a once-tough now-gentrifying-and-cool area of London that has also become one of the hottest boys' names in the US, entering the Top 1000 names list in 2015. Spelling variation Brixten was used for less than 10 percent of the babies given the name,. Names with an x in the middle tend to sound cool and modern even when their roots are anything but. Another reason Brixton and Brixten are hot is its similarity to the increasingly popular Braxton.

A perfect example of what a difference a single letter can make. Add an 'a' to the ho-hum Cathy and you have the old name for China, often used by such poets as Edna St. Vincent Millay and Ezra Pound.

Pilgrimage site in Italy.

Family surname or feminist statement name? Either way, this literary surname has a cool, current sound.

This name of an old Armenian city, might sound a little too masculine for use here. Variations include the more feminine Garine and Karine.

A Catalan county name used for both girls and boys in its homeland.

Cam and Kam names, led by Camila, are hot right now — time to add Cambria and Kambria to the list of possibilities.

The historic name for the south-west corner of Wales, deriving from the British tribe of the Demetae.

A jaunty nautical-sounding name.

Valletta is the capital city of Malta. It takes on an air of attractiveness via model Amber Valletta and could make an appealing alternative to the somewhat dated Valerie.

This Canadian city name would make a unique but very wearable choice for a son or daughter. Cal is a good nickname — skip Gary.

This form of Amaia, with two Is, is a Top 100 name in Puerto Rico.

A family name, a bit haughty.

Guthrie, folk singer Woody's last name, makes a perfectly fine first choice for a girl. Names such as Guthrie that have no gendered history can make true nonbinary names.