Place Names for Babies

Provo is the name of a conservative Utah city that's unlikely to be among the most fashionable place-names. You'd do better with Utah.

This name of an old Armenian city, might sound a little too masculine for use here. Variations include the more feminine Garine and Karine.

Unlikely to make it onto the name map.

Pilgrimage site in Italy.

A place name that became a heady way of life, and a rarely-if-ever-used baby name.

Maryland appeared on the charts as a male name before a female one, but these days it's all girl.

Pronounced my-ORK-a, the name of this lovely Balearic Island, located in the Mediterranean, is one of the prettiest and most feminine of place names. The Spanish spelling is MALLORCA.

Lydda is the name of a Biblical town whose similarity to Lydia makes it plausible as a first name. But if you're considering Lydda, we can't help but wonder: Why not just stick with Lydia?

Zuma is a name that can appeal to almost anyone — just pick your association! There's former South African president Jacob Zuma, the Malibu beach, video game, and more. Children will associate it with the male Paw Patrol character — which may explain why Zuma is becoming more popular among dogs.

A city in Italy, or simply an alternative spelling of Barry.

Transferred from the geographical name, Jerusalem is a sacred city in many religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is given to around a dozen babies of each sex per year in the US.

Missouri, the name of a tribe, a state and a river, derives from the Illinois word mihsoori meaning "dugout canoe". It became a somewhat popular American girls' name in the mid-19th century.

Less-traveled member of this fashionable group, with less than attractive sound.

Ravello is an Italian town on the Amalfi Coast. It's a popular travel destination and was a favorite spot for many notable creatives, including Virginia Woolf, Greta Garbo, and Tennessee Williams.

Tribeca was the term created for New York City's TRIangle BElow CAnal Street. Stangely enough--that aside--it almost does sound like a plausible girls' name, nicknamed Becca.

A German surname, Tessin is drawn from several places in or near the Mecklenburg region of northeastern Germany. This rare first name can work for either sex.

The familiar Irish city and bay is one place-name that seems distinctly masculine.

A city in southern Jordan that some believe will be the site of the Second Coming.

This Caribbean island and popular travel destination is known for its stunning white sand beaches and bright blue waters. The name Aruba is thought to stem from the word Oruba, meaning "well-situated island" in the native Caiquetio language.