Place Names for Babies

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

Likable Irish surname name, but bound to be confused with Clooney.

Soft and alluring, much like the similarly named cloth, but might have political implications.

More a concept than a place -- or a name.

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.

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.

Venkata is one of the seven peaks of the Tirumala Hills in India. As a result of the temple on this hill, Venkata is connected to the god Vishnu. Venkata is also the name of the protagonist in the 2009 film Venkata in Senkata as well as Nobel prize winner Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman.

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’.

Athens the city takes its name from Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and courage. If you prefer place names to mythological names and like gender neutral names better than those that are gender distinct, Athens may be a good alternative to Athena.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

An appealing Hawaiian name which belongs to a town, river and bay on Kauaʻi island in Hawaii. The two possible meanings of the name, "crescent bay" or "garland (lei) valley" both describe the beauty of the place.

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.

Strong, spare, and highly unusual -- there were no babies recorded of either gender receiving this name in one recent year -- place-name referring to the northernmost state in New England. All state names qualify as distinctly American names.

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.

Beyzs is both a girls' name, most popular around the turn of this century, and a place name of a city and county in Iran.

A city in Italy, or simply a feminized spelling of Barry.