Place Names for Babies

Kiska is a Alaskan volcano island that has the sort of brisk sound to it that makes it fit in with both old names like Saskia and modern names like Pax.

From Caeredin, the Welsh name for the Scottish capital, Edinburgh... although many people would see it simply as an alternative spelling of Aiden.

Manhattan is the smallest yet one of the most populous New York City boroughs. The area was historically inhabited by Munsee Lenape and Wappinger tribes of Native Americans, and the name Manhattan is derived from the Munsee Lenape language. Hickory trees that were used to make bows grew on the southern part of Manhattan, which inspired the term manaháhtaan, from the Munsee Lenape words for "gather" and "bow."

It's a hat, it's a race, and it's even been known to be a name. In Britain, it would be pronounced darby.

From the name of the river which flows through Pakistan, India, and Tibet.

One of several fascinating names used in Charlaine Harris's Midnight, Texas books and the NBC adaptation thereof, Fiji is a pleasingly quirky place name that's been little used for babies. Though it has been used quite a lot for fancy bottled water, we don't think it quite qualifies as a water name.

This name of a California desert town, used by Deborah Falconer and Robert Downey, Jr. for their son, makes a much livelier and more individual – not to mention more masculine – improvisation on the themes of India and Indiana.

Maybe if you spent your honeymoon there. We did say maybe. Bermuda was used in the 17th century, such as Bermuda Rolfe.

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

The rural Imo State in southeast Nigeria is named after the Imo River, which runs through it. An obscure but intriguing possibility as a first name.

This is the Italian way to say Venice -- Ven-ETZ-ee-a -- but you might also opt for the softer Venetia or Venice itself.

Tupelo, the name of a Mississippi city as well as a tree with soft, light wood that grows in the swamps of the south, attracted some attention as a first name via author Tupelo Hassman. The song Tupelo Honey also brought it some notoriety.

Norwegian city name heard much more often as a last name than a first.

Unlike other place names, this one might be tied too tightly to a single locale -- the Maryland suburb of D. C. -- to work as a first name.

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

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.

Judea — also spelled Judaea — is a mountainous region in the Middle East historically part of Jerusalem, that is significant in religions like Judaism and Christianity. As Jude and Judah dominate in the charts, and fresh Biblical place names like Jericho and Galilee feel stylish as ever, Judea holds a lot of potential.

Lansing is perhaps best known as the state capital of Michigan, which was named after the town of Lansing, New York. The original Lansing was named in honor of John Lansing Jr., a Chancellor of New York and mayor of Albany. He was of Dutch parentage.

A unique natural-wonder option, conjuring up the beauty of the lake between California and Nevada that has become a popular tourist destination.

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.