Place Names for Babies

  1. Fife
    • Origin:

      Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "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.
  2. Havilah
    • Origin:

      Hebrew
    • Meaning:

      "to dance"
    • Description:

      Old Testament male name and biblical place name.
  3. Mesa
    • Origin:

      Spanish
    • Meaning:

      "table"
    • Description:

      Mesa is the term for a flat-topped mountain, derived from the Spanish word for "table".
  4. Bristol
    • Origin:

      British place-name
    • Description:

      This name of a busy British port city -- as well as of several places in America -- has a brisk and bustling air. It will now--and for years to come--be identified as a (female) Sarah Palin name.
  5. Genoa
    • Origin:

      Italian place-name
    • Description:

      One of the newer geographical site names, it has the advantage of sounding like a real girl's name because of its jen beginning and feminine a ending.
  6. Berlin
    • Origin:

      German
    • Meaning:

      "borderline"
    • Description:

      Edgy German capital with definite possibilities as a baby name.
  7. Atlanta
    • Origin:

      Place name
    • Meaning:

      "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.

  8. Zebulun
    • Origin:

      Biblical place-name
    • Description:

      It's a place in the Bible but also relates to the name Zebulon.
  9. Joplin
    • Origin:

      English surname
    • Meaning:

      "son of Job"
    • Description:

      Used as a first name for a handful of girls every year, Joplin could be seen as a distant cousin of other -lin names, like Caitlin, Brooklyn and Braelynn. We think it works even better as a musical middle name possibility for fans of Janis... or Scott. Both great connections — albeit very different from one another.

  10. Monaco
    • Origin:

      Place name
    • Description:

      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.
  11. Bolton
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "dwelling in an enclosure"
    • Description:

      Severe surname choice.
  12. Veryan
    • Origin:

      Cornish place name
    • Meaning:

      "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.
  13. Elgin
    • Aberdeen
      • Origin:

        Scottish place-name
      • Description:

        Amiable, undiscovered geographic option.
    • Corsica
      • Origin:

        Place-name
      • Description:

        Corsica, the picturesque Mediterrean island birthplace of Napoleon, makes an easy switch from atlas to baby name book, with its delicate, feminine ending. Just don't consider neighboring island Sardinia.
    • Basel
      • Origin:

        Swiss place name
      • Meaning:

        "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:

        Hebrew
      • Meaning:

        "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.
    • Revello
      • Origin:

        Italian place name, Catalan
      • Meaning:

        "wild olive tree"
      • Description:

        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."
    • Burgundy
      • Origin:

        French place-name; also color name
      • Description:

        It's a place. It's a wine. It's a color. -- no wonder trend-heavy Burgundy's been discovered as a name.
    • Yosemite
      • Origin:

        Native American tribal name
      • Meaning:

        "those who kill"
      • Description:

        The evocative name of one of our most beautiful national parks -- yes, but also the bombastic cartoon character, Yosemite Sam.