Place Names for Babies

Barra is a Gaelic-speaking island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, that’s been inhabited since the Neolithic era. A male nickname for Finbarr in Ireland, as well as a stand-alone name, Barra was used by George R.R. Martin as a girl’s name. It means ‘fair-haired’.

Most parents would prefer London for their daughters.

Volcano name for an active, bubbly child -- but be careful -- volcanoes do erupt.

This geographical name with Iroquois roots has a lot going for it: a strong sound, a vigorous o ending, and -- a quality prized today -- rarity.

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.

The unique O-ending makes this name memorable, especially for someone with ties to Texas.

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.

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.

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.

When Kim Kardashian and Kanye West named their daughter Chicago — after West's hometown — we expected it to rise for baby girls. But American parents have taken to Chicago as a boy name. It's been given to more boys than girls every year since 2018.

An unexplored choice, evocative of the snowcapped Andes, with a pleasant, catchy sound.

Oceania is one of the most elaborate of the trending Ocean-related names. Oceania also refers to the area of the world including Australia and neighboring islands.

Place-name mentioned in the New Testament and not yet on the name map. Philadelphia Thursday was the character played by Shirley Temple in John Ford's 1948 "Fort Apache."

Leyre is an important name in Navarre, Spain, as it is both the name of a mountain and an ancient monastery. It is derived from the Basque Leire, of uncertain origins. Both spellings currently rank among the Top 100 baby names in Spain.

This place-name is more unique and offbeat than London or Milan. The name Seoul just debuted on the US charts in 2022.

Lexington is rising as a place name used just about evenly for the genders. For Americans, it's got a patriotic ring, given the importance of Lexington, Massachusetts in the Revolutionary War. Lexington, Kentucky, in horse country, is another famous place with the name.

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.

A distinguished-sounding place name with a cool, positive "win" sound. The original Winchester was the capital of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex.

Kimberley is a town in South Africa associated with diamonds and with wealth and luxury in general. It was name for Lord Kimberley, whose surname derived from an English place name. Used for boys in the early twentieth century, it re-emerged as a girls' name in the 1940s, usually spelled Kimberly.

Quito is a place-name (it's the capital of Ecuador) with lots of lively energy--as long as it's pronounced correctly.