Place Names for Babies

Has a lively and swaggering sound, and also some unfortunate associations with Reno, city of gambling and failed marriages.

Montserrat is a Catalan name meaning ‘serrated mountain’. That may not be the most appealing meaning, but the exceptional beauty of the Montserrat mountain range near Barcelona, Spain might change your mind. Montserrat is, unsurprisingly, most common among the Spanish community.

Penrose – an ancient place-name and surname derived from several villages in Cornwall, Wales, and the Welsh border country of England – would make for an even more unexpected alternative to quirky nature name Primrose. Intuitive nicknames Penny or Rosie make it feel more wearable.

Also spelled Leyre and taken from the name of a monastery fortress, the popular and lilting choice in Spain will pose pronunciation problems elsewhere. Among the Top 100 girls' names in Spain, Leire was given to only a handful of baby girls in the US last year.

Ephron was the Old Testament son of Zohar who sold his field and cave to Abraham to use as a family burial ground. Ephron is also a Biblical place-name, a mountain range that formed the northern border of the land of Judah.

This biblical place-name for the region now known as Yemen started to feel fresh again as the name of the heroine of Zoe Heller's Notes on a Scandal, played on screen by Cate Blanchett.

The y makes it seem more like a name and less like an animal, but it's still not as appealing as several Leo choices.

Ed Sheeran put this continental place name on the map when he used it as the middle name for his daughter Lyra, born in 2020.

A rarely used Biblical place-name with a soft and pleasant sound.

Politics aside, the Cuban capital is one of the most rhythmic of place-names. The question is: can politics be put aside?

Cytherea, a place-name that is the home of Aphrodite, seems stuck in ancient Greece.

Despite the strong association with the University of California, Berkeley, the more common version of this name omits the second E, Berkley.

The famous home of Hamlet in Shakespeare's great play is based on an actual castle in northern Denmark, which guarded the narrow entryway to the Baltic Sea for centuries. (The Danish word for it is Helsingør.) Elsinore may claim a rightful place among the Danish names for girls, vaguely akin to Eleanor, with Elsie a natural nickname, though some may find it a little pretentious. But as a middle name for the lover of Shakespeare or Copenhagen? Golden.

A patriotic place name, with its connections to Arlington National Cemetary.

In Israel, Mount Arbel is a mountain in the lower Galilee. Jewish parents have adopted it as a name for their sons and daughters for the mountain's historic and religious significance.

Barbossa (also spelled Barbosa) is derived from the Barbosa palm. It is also a common place name, with towns called Barbossa spread across Latin America. Film buffs might also recall that Barbossa is the name of the captain of the Black Pearl in the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean".

While this African place-name is much more popular for boys, nearly 40 girls were named Zaire last year. Among African baby names, this is one of the best-known in the US.

Out-of-the-way place name (it's an antiquated holiday spot on England's south coast) that might make a brilliant choice. Actor/director Jon Favreau named his daughter Brighton Rose.

Most names that start with Cam- are on the upswing, so why not this obscure term for Wales as well as for a prehistoric time period.

Sonora may be a more unusual and melodic choice than Sierra, but this Mexican state name may sound too much like Senora to work as a name.