Place Names for Babies

Alaska's second most populous city makes a baby name with a preppy, even aristocratic, flavor.

Preppy P surname, and a potential way to honor a Scott.

Daytona Beach is a city in Florida named after founder Matthias Day in 1870. It is well-known as the home of NASCAR's Daytona International Speedway, the racetrack which hosts the Daytona 500.

City name less mellifluous than Paris, London, or even Trenton. It was the name of the character portrayed by Leonardo di Caprio in "Gangs of New York."

An ethereal name with elements of Irene and Miriam, Irian is a woman/dragon character in Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea novels, and a historic name for the island of New Guinea, now with colonial associations.

Austria is an nteresting, appealing, unexplored geographic destination, much fresher than American cousin Austin.

Strong and spare state name, maybe better in the middle -- or for a boy.

A city of the Shephelah that works as a first but you'll be forever explaining why it's not Kayla.

After Dallas, Austin, and Houston, the new cowboy on the block. Old-school Western nickname: Tex.

Milan is one of the hottest place names in recent years for both girls and boys — why not the Italian name for the beautiful city, Milano. Also a delicious brand of cookies.

A pretty town in Scotland, named for its perfect horseshoe-shaped bay.

This name of an attractive and arty California town could make an unusual but friendly choice.

The state capital of Tennessee — and the capital of country music — has seen some use for boys in recent years, now that more parents are daring to use meaningful place names. While not as popular as Memphis, Nashville has a cool, laid-back charm... and has the option of Nash as a nickname.

Long synonymous with the American outlaw Harry Longabaugh, aka The Sundance Kid, who got his nickname from the town of Sundance, Wyoming, where he was incarcerated as a teenager. The place name Sundance was taken from the sun dance ceremony practiced by local Native American tribes.

If you're looking for an African place-name, this one belongs to the main town in eastern Morocco.

The meaning of the place name Berian, in Pembrokeshire, is not known, but it may mean "plain" or "burial place". It would make an interesting -ian ending option for lovers of names like Julian and Adrian who want something a bit more off-the-beaten-track.

There's a Perth in Scotland and a bigger one in Australia; this name could make a statement similar to Heath.

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.

Sonoma, the name of a beautiful northern California wine-growing region, might inspire some parents. Other California place names beyond Sonoma: Marin, Berkeley, Sierra.

Derived from Kitt as a diminutive of Christopher, Kitts is known as the larger of the two islands making up the nation St. Kitts and Nevis.