Place Names for Babies

Familiar-but-new and ultra-rare (for girls anyway), Zealand has a lot going for it with its spunky Z initial and globe-trotting vibes. Sparingly used for boys since the 2000s and even more occasionally used for girls since 2010, YouTube family The Labrants brought this name into the spotlight when they called their son Zealand in 2019.

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

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

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

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.

A pleasant and adaptable place name for a part of Tel Aviv.

Written as Genève, it's the authentic name of Switzerland's capital. The English version, Geneva, is more common as a baby name in the US.

This name of an architecturally glorious Italian city makes a romantic and evocative possibility.

Also a dog breed

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.

Rhythmic name with both religious and geographical ties, commonly heard in Latin countries.

We had Egypt listed as a girls-only place-name until singer Alicia Keys and rap producer husband Swizz Beatz used it for their son...and why not? Egypt certainly works as well for a boy as for a girl.

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.

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."

This legendary Andalusian city, according to myth founded by Hercules, is an undiscovered baby name destination.

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.

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

Though this Biblical place name is found among early American settlers, usually as a male name, today it sounds completely feminine. As a place name, its gender is mutable in any case. An unusual and intriguing Biblical option, albeit one with an unhappy meaning.

A Californian city name that feels like a natural successor to trendy unisex Oakley and Oaklynn.

Miami -- or Florida, for that matter -- hasn't achieved the place-name stardom of southern sisters like Savannah and Georgia. Quincy Jones used it as his daughter KENYA's middle name.