New York Neighborhood Names

  1. Diamond
    • Origin:

      Gem name
    • Description:

      Diamond sparkled all through the nineties--reaching as high as Number 150 in 1999. Although its shine has diminished quite a bit, it remains in use.
  2. Jamaica
    • Origin:

      Native American place name
    • Meaning:

      "rich in springs"
    • Description:

      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.
  3. Kew
    • Origin:

      Cornish
    • Meaning:

      "chick"
    • Description:

      Kew is an offbeat name of a saint from Cornwall with boyish appeal.
  4. Bergen
    • Origin:

      Scandinavian
    • Meaning:

      "lives on a hill"
    • Description:

      Norwegian city name heard much more often as a last name than a first.
  5. Manhattan
    • Origin:

      Munsee Lenape, Native American
    • Meaning:

      "place for gathering the [wood to make] bows"
    • Description:

      Manhattan is the smallest yet one of the most populous New York City boroughs. The area was historically inhabited by Munsee Lenape and Wappinger tribes of Native Americans, and the name Manhattan is derived from the Munsee Lenape language. Hickory trees that were used to make bows grew on the southern part of Manhattan, which inspired the term manaháhtaan, from the Munsee Lenape words for "gather" and "bow."
  6. Corona
    • Origin:

      Spanish
    • Meaning:

      "crown"
    • Description:

      Corona was once an improbable choice due to the beer brand. After the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, its firmly cemented its status as a nonviable baby name.
  7. Rego
    • Origin:

      Portuguese
    • Meaning:

      "ditch, channel"
    • Description:

      A surname that could become a first, an alternate to the already-taken REGIS.
  8. Beverley
    • Tremont
      • Origin:

        French
      • Meaning:

        "over the hill"
      • Description:

        A harsh definition to inflict on a baby boy.
    • Meier
      • Origin:

        German surname
      • Meaning:

        "landlord, farmer"
    • Gramercy
      • Origin:

        Place name
      • Description:

        A pretty private park in Manhattan, doesn't quite make it as a baby name.
    • Canarsie
      • Origin:

        Place name
      • Description:

        Has much too strong of a Brooklyn accent.
    • Soho
      • Origin:

        place name
      • Description:

        Both Soho and Noho--no-no.
    • Ansonia
      • Origin:

        Feminine variation of Anson
      • Description:

        Sounds too much like the name of a hotel.
    • Morrisania
      • Origin:

        Place name
      • Description:

        New Yorkers will recognize this as a Bronx place name, others will see it as a gussied-up female version of Morris.
    • Arverne
      • Origin:

        Place name
      • Description:

        The name of a Queens, New York neighborhood sounds like a lost-in-limbo girls' name such as LAVERNE.
    • Tribeca
      • Origin:

        American place-name
      • Description:

        Tribeca was the term created for New York City's TRIangle BElow CAnal Street. Stangely enough--that aside--it almost does sound like a plausible girls' name, nicknamed Becca.