Place Names for Babies

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.

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

The place name Ethiopia was derived from the Greek word for an Ethiopian, Aithiops, from the components aithō, "I burn" and ōps "face." As a noun, it takes on the meaning of "Burnt-face," which the Greeks used to distinguish between those in Africa and those from the Middle East, who had lighter skin. In adjective form, Aithiops means "red-brown."

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.

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.

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

Also a dog breed

One five-letter name, a quick suffix away from David, with two very different connotations. It's the name of a posh ski resort in Switzerland that hosts the illustrious World Economic Forum -- attended by tycoons, celebrities and heads of state -- each year. And of a trustworthy, salt-of-the-earth character in Game of Thrones, Davos Seaworth.

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

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.

Lovely, international, tea-scented possibility undiscovered by baby names.

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

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.

Attica has not taken off as a baby name for girls the way Atticus has for boys partly because it's the name of an infamous prison in upstate New York where an deadly riot took place in 1971. Fewer than 5 baby girls were named Attica in the US in 2021, but half a century after the riots and with the rise of brother name Atticus, that well could change.

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.

This Scottish surname and Scottish and Australian place name has a pleasant airy and breezy sound to it. Camden mayor Lara Symkowiak chose the name for her daughter born in 2016.

Madeira is an island off Morocco where the wine comes from. Despite the alcohol association, Madeira has a gorgeous sound.

In the Bible, Calvary is the hill outside of Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified. This religious significance, along with a pleasant sound, have led some parents to begin using it as a name for their daughters.

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.