Place Names for Babies
- Seychelle
Origin:
FrenchMeaning:
"island name"Description:
Actress Seychelle Gabriel is named after the Seychelles, an archipelagic island nation in the Indian Ocean. The islands were named after Jean Moreau de Séchelles, Louis XV's Minister of Finance.
- Burgundy
Origin:
French place-name; also color nameDescription:
It's a place. It's a wine. It's a color. -- no wonder trend-heavy Burgundy's been discovered as a name.
- Trinidad
Origin:
SpanishMeaning:
"trinity"Description:
Trinidad, an island off Venezuela in the southern Caribbean, is Spanish for ‘trinity’ and is a common unisex name in Latin America. Notable namesakes include performers Trini Lopez (male) and Trini Alvarado (female), both born Trinidad.
- Monaco
Origin:
Place nameDescription:
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.
- Bethlehem
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"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.
- Atlanta
Origin:
Place nameMeaning:
"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.
- Basel
Origin:
Swiss place nameMeaning:
"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.
- Corsica
Origin:
Place-nameDescription:
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.
- Gaya
Origin:
Hindu, Hebrew, GreekDescription:
A multi-cultural name that feels on trend with sister names Maya and Kaya, if you overlook that first syllable. Gaya is both a city in India and an island in Malaysia.
- Abilene
Origin:
English from HebrewMeaning:
"grass"Description:
New Testament, Texas, and Kansas place-name more fitting for a girl.
- Providence
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"divine protection or care"Description:
A Puritanical virtue name and also a place name, belonging to the state capital of Rhode Island and several other towns and cities in the US.
- Macarena
Origin:
Spanish place nameMeaning:
"happy"Description:
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.
- Utah
Origin:
Place-nameDescription:
This would make a startling but likable choice; poet Dylan Thomas used it for a character in his play "Under Milk Wood."
- Jamaica
Origin:
Native American place nameMeaning:
"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.
- Nairi
Origin:
Armenian place nameDescription:
This was the old name for ancient Armenia, land of canyons.
- England
Origin:
Place-nameDescription:
Most parents would prefer London for their daughters.
- Seoul
Origin:
KoreanMeaning:
"capital"Description:
This place-name is more unique and offbeat than London or Milan. The name Seoul just debuted on the US charts in 2022.
- Dijon
Origin:
French place-nameDescription:
Dijon is the capital city of the Burgundy region of eastern France, famed for its wine and yes, its mustard. As a first name, it's been brought to wider attention by a few prominent musicians and could grow in use.
- Kauai
Origin:
Hawaiian place-nameDescription:
Kauai is known as the Garden Isle of Hawaii. Ironically, it qualifies as a baby name based on spelling variation and homonym Kawhi, as in basketball star Kawhi Leonard.
- Elim
Origin:
Biblical place nameMeaning:
"place of strong trees"Description:
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.