Not yet on the place-name map, this name has Shakespearean ties via the Duke Of Albany character in King Lear.

Albany

Given to children of both sexes as far back as colonial times, this carries a lot of baggage. However, parents continue to take the risk. Actress America Ferrera may be have inspired some families to choose the name. Ferrera's Honduras-born mother shares her unusual name.

America

This still attractive place name was one of the first to gain popularity, though it now probably owes some of its favor to the similar Aisha. Asia ranked as high as Number 195 on the US <a href="https://nameberry.com/">baby names</a> popularity list in 1997. 
 In Greek myth, Asia is the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys and mother of, among others, Atlas and Prometheus.
 One of the best known modern bearers of the name is Italian actress, singer, and director Asia Argento, who is probably responsible for its popularity in Italy, where it ranks Number 35. Asia Monet Ray is a dancer featured on the hit television shows Dance Moms and Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition.

Asia

Aspen is part of two groups of stylish and unique baby names: <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/329/nature-baby-names">nature names</a> and place-names. The name of a graceful tree in the poplar family with heart-shaped leaves so delicate they quiver in the gentlest breeze, Aspen is also the name of a trendy Colorado ski resort. Aspen started as a unisex name possibility but now is much more frequently worn by girls.
 Aspen entered the popularity list in 1993 and is a good bet to start climbing higher as more and more parents respond to the appealing place and nature image it evokes.

Aspen

Bristol Palin, the daughter of former Alaska governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, grabbed her own share of headlines by having a baby out of wedlock and then appearing on Dancing With The Stars. She single-handedly propelled her distinctive name, inspired by a city in England, into the Top 1000 and up the charts. Bristol's ascent ended a few years back.

Bristol

Berlin

Languid, romantic, and classy, this variation heats up Caroline and modernizes Carol, adding a southern accent.
 Pronounced Caro-LINE-a in English-speaking countries, it is heard as Caro-LEEN-a in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. Nicknames can include Caro and Lina, as well as Carrie.
 A prominent bearer is Venezuelan fashion designer Carolina Herrera (born Maria Carolina), who has designed clothes for First Ladies from Jacqueline Kennedy to Michele Obama. A hauntingly melodic theme song in James Taylor's 'Carolina on My Mind.'

Carolina

This name of a touristed island in sight of Los Angeles makes an attractive and newly stylish variation on the classic Catherine or overused Caitlin. 
 Santa Catalina of Siena was, along with Saint Francis, one of the two patron saints of Italy and was a respected spiritual writer of the Church. Catalina de Aragón y Castilla is the original Spanish name of the first wife of Henry VIII, known to history as Catherine of Aragon. In a completely different vein, Catalina Aruca was a character on the sitcom My Name is Earl.

Catalina

Charlotte, the name of the young Princess of Cambridge, is the latest classic name to join Sophia, Emma, Olivia, and Isabella at the top of the popularity list. It is now among the most popular girl names in many English-speaking and European countries.
 
The feminine form of Charles, Charlotte derived from Charlot, a French diminutive of Charles meaning "little Charles" and the name of Charlemagne’s son in French literature and legend. The name was popularized by England's Queen Charlotte Sophia, wife of King George III.
 
Queen Charlotte was the mother of fifteen children and a patron of Mozart and Bach. She and George ruled England in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century during the French and American revolutions.
 
Charlotte is an elegant royal name, with a host of widely varied role models, from Charlotte Brontë to the spidery protagonist of E. B. White's Charlotte's Web to the more recent Charlotte York, aka the prissy one, of Sex and the City. Charlotte is appealing to a wide range of parents because it sounds feminine yet grownup, sophisticated yet lush. 
 
Charlotte is a pop culture staple—it was Scarlett Johansson's character in Lost in Translation and has been featured on TV shows like Lost and Revenge. The band Good Charlotte was named for a children's book with that title. An all-around winner of a name, Charlotte has been chosen by Chelsea Clinton, Dylan McDermott, Colin Hanks, and Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr.
 In addition to Charlie, Lottie makes a cute nickname.

Charlotte

Long before the current place-name craze, a pair of the more daring pop singers of the Age of Aquarius picked this name for their daughters. Jefferson Airplane's Grace Slick used the conventional spelling, the Mamas and the Papas's Michelle Phillips went further afield with Chynna (of the group Wilson Phillips). 
 The name has been associated with some very glamorous women--China (born Noelie and pronounced Cheena) Machado was one of the first supermodels and a muse for Richard Avedon, and the contemporary actress and model China Chow.

China

Chyenne

Florence is back, returning to the US Top 1000 girl names in 2017 after a nearly 40 year absence. Other English-speaking countries have been quicker to welcome Florence back into fashion. 
 
The name has a lot going for it, both for its floral feel and as a place name connection to the lovely Italian city (after which Florence Nightingale was named—it was her birthplace). The association to the city seems to be helping Florence stir back to life, along with cousin Flora.
 The band Florence + the Machine, headlined by red-haired Florence Welch, has also helped to rejuvenate its image.
 Florence was most popular in the US at the turn of the last century and in the early decades of the twentieth—it was in the Top 10 from 1886 to 1906. 
 Florence has a diverse mixture of namesakes and references—a character in Dickens's Dombey & Sons, a US First Lady (Harding), one of the Supremes, the Brady Bunch's Henderson, track and field star Florence Griffith Joyner, and several TV characters.
 Florence has some particularly lively nicknames—Flo, Flossie, and Florrie.

Florence

Unlike its somewhat formal Swiss city namesake, this is a lively and appealing place-name that also has a real history as a female name. 
 Geneva was a relatively popular American name at one time: it reached as high as Number 107 in 1919, and remained in the Top 200 until 1942. Geneva was the middle name of First Lady Mamie Eisenhower, and is the name of a leading character on The Good Wife.

Geneva

Georgia is so rich, lush and luscious, it's almost irresistible. Georgia's now a rising star among the feminizations of George, helped by associations with the southern state (named for British King George II) and painter Georgia O'Keeffe, with the Ray Charles song "Georgia On My Mind" or maybe "Sweet Georgia Brown" playing in the background. 

 Georgia is in fact a double place name, also belonging to an ex-Soviet state famous for the ancient monastery Vardzia and its rich culinary and wine-growing culture.

 Georgia has been chosen for their daughters by Harry Connick, Jr., Hope Davis, Amy Ryan, Zac Brown, Rebecca Gayheart and Eric Dane, and Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy.

Georgia

Helena is one of those classic names that just misses making the US Top 1000 girl names for its entire history, falling off for a single year in 1992. Since then it's been drifting lazily up the charts, and makes a perfect choice if you want a name that both fits in and stands out.
An airier and more elegant version of Helen, Helena was a favorite of Shakespeare, who used it in both All's Well That Ends Well and A Midsummer's Night Dream. 

Historically, Helena was the mother of Constantine the Great (and, supposedly, the daughter of Old King Cole), who became a fourth century saint--Evelyn Waugh wrote his only historical novel, Helena, based on her story.
 British star Helena Bonham Carter and Danish model Helena Christensen have done much to keep the name alive, and it is also remembered via beauty mogul Helena Rubinstein. Helena is also the title of a song by the group My Chemical Romance.
 Helena is a recommended <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls' name</a> for those who find the classic version a bit bland.
 HELL-ehn-a is the best modern pronunciation for Helena, but hell-AYN-a or even hell-EEN-a work too.

Helena

Euphonious and long stylish in England, India was one of the fastest-rising names on the 2013 list, after jumping 240 spots back into the Top 1000.
 
Gorgeous as it may be, the usage of India as a name has distinctly imperial roots, making it a loaded (and ill-advised) choice for someone without Indian heritage.
 
India was a character in Gone with the Wind, the sister of Ashley Wilkes, and more recently was picked for the daughters of singer Sarah McLachlan, actress Heather Thomas, and Avenger Chris Hemsworth.
 
India Hicks is a high-profile ex-model with ties to the royal family, and the mother of a girl called Domino. Singer India.Arie was born India Arie — without the period.

India

Since we wrote a book called Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana, encouraging parents to move beyond overused names, it's no secret what we think of this trendy surname name, inspired by a mermaid named Madison in the 1980s movie Splash.
 
Madison originated as an English surname, a variant of Mathieson, meaning "son of Matthew." It is occasionally translated as "son of Maud," as Maddy was historically a nickname for Maud. It was introduced as a feminine given name when the mermaid character in Splash takes her name from a street sign on New York’s Madison Avenue..
 
Madison ranked in the Top 10 for nearly 20 years, from the late 1990s until 2015, and has been on a gradual decline since then. But there are still more than 5000 baby girls named Madison in the US each year (along with a few dozen baby boys).
 
Madison’s longtime popularity can be credited to its connection to several of the hottest naming trends of the 21st century so far. It’s a place name, the capital of Wisconsin, ala Savannah and Sienna. It’s also a surname with an Old Money veneer in the vein of Addison and Emerson that feels gender-neutral even if it’s not.
 
And it may have felt like a fresh way to get to the popular nickname Maddie or Maddy, though the classic Madelyn may have more staying power.

Madison

Overly trendy western place-name, as stated in the title of our book Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana. 

Montana

Odessa, a Ukrainian port city, was given its name by Catherine the Great, who was inspired by Homer's Odyssey. It would make an original and intriguing choice. 
 Though rare today, Odessa had more U.S. popularity in the past than you might imagine. It actually ranked in the Top 1000 every year from 1880, the year Social Security records began to be kept, through 1956. Then anti-Russian sentiment during the Cold War took it off the table. Michael Chiklis, onetime Commish, has a daughter named Odessa.

Odessa

An attractive North Carolina unisex place name, Raleigh's soft sound is particularly appropriate for a girl. 

Raleigh

Rome

A beautiful and evocative place-name that deserves wider use. 

Sahara

A place name with a deep Southern accent, the once-obscure Savannah shot to fame, with others of its genre, on the heels of the best seller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which was set in the mossy Georgia city of Savannah. Originally a substitute for the overused Samantha, Savannah is now becoming overused itself, long among the top <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/girls-names/s">girls' names starting with S</a>.
 Before that, there were Savannahs in the novel and movie The Prince of Tides, in the Terry McMillan hit novel and film Waiting to Exhale, played by Whitney Houston and, even earlier, in a 1982 movie called Savannah Smiles.
 Savannah has actually been on the popularity list since records started being kept in the 1880's; she's been in the Top 100 since 1993. Desperate Housewives' Marcia Cross chose Savannah for her twin daughter, and it's the name of Queen Elizabeth's first great-grandchild. And Savannah Guthrie can be seen every morning on the Today Show.

Savannah

Sicily is a lilting Italian place-name that sounds like the elegant British Cicely -- which you might consider a plus or a minus. 

Sicily

Sierra is a name borrowed from the western mountain range, with Latin rhythm and cowboy charm, that has led to many offshoots: Cierra, Cyara, and so on. It is now probably past its peak but retains its pretty-yet-strong sound. The meaning refers to the sharp, irregular peaks of some of the Western mountains such as the Sierra Nevada.

Sierra

Sydney was a hot girls' name in the 1990s, but she's arguably still cool. One of the original old man names adopted for baby girls, Sydney's popularity may be down but she's not out. 
 Cool girl actress Sydney Sweeney, of Euphoria and White Lotus, is doing a lot to burnish Sydney's image. The city of Sydney, Australia is another familiar reference.
 Katharine Hepburn played a female Sidney in her first movie, A Bill of Divorcement and lately there have been women named Sydney all over the big and small screens, including Annette Bening in The American President, and on Alias, Parenthood and Hope and Faith.
Actor Sidney Poitier named his daughter Sydney back in 1973,

Sydney

This lovely orange-scented Spanish place-name would make an inventive namesake for an Aunt Valerie.
 Last on the popularity list in 1994, Valencia reached a high of Number 633 in 1969-70.
 The Mediterranean city of Valencia is the third largest in Spain; it was founded as a Roman colony in 138 BC, originally called Valentia--and so has a long and storied history.

Valencia

Verona is a scenic place-name with the added attraction of a Shakespearean connection, as in Two Gentlemen of....

Verona

Vienna is one of the more popular of the European place-names, with a particularly pleasant sound, evoking elegant images of the Blue Danube, of castles and cafes, sweets and sausages and Strauss waltzes—and Sigmund Freud. It could be a possible substitute for the popular Sienna. 
 While many see place-names as a recent invention, Vienna has been used as a name for centuries. It was, for instance, the name of a 15th century mother of a saint. Joan Crawford plays a strong-willed saloon keeper in the classic 1954 western drama Johnny Guitar. And there was also a Vienna in the F. Scott Fitzgerald story "The Bowl."
 Trivia tidbit: Vienna's Roman-era name was Vindobono.

Vienna

Virginia is a lovely place name starting with the fashionable V and having deep historical roots, yet, unlike some other other girls' classics, has been sorely neglected in recent years. 
 The colony/state of Virginia was given its name by Sir Walter Raleigh in honor of Elizabeth I, known as the Virgin Queen, and the first child to be born of English parents in the New World was christened Virginia Dare.
 Virginia was in the Top 10 for 25 years, from 1912 to 1937, hitting a high of Number 6 in 1921, when there were 19,000 newborn Virginias in their cradles.
 She does have a couple of possible downsides—those teasable virgin associations, and the not-quite-ready-for-revival Ginny nickname. But we think they're outweighed by more positive factors, and Virginia is in line for a possible revival.
 Virginia has such distinguished namesakes as writer Virginia Woolf, has been the subject of songs by groups ranging from The Rolling Stones to the Foo Fighters, and has appeared as a character in a number of books, movies, and TV shows—currently co-starring on Masters of Sex. Ginger Rogers was born Virginia.

Virginia

Zaire

undefined's list "Place Names From Around the World: Girls" of 31 great name ideas: Albany - Zaire!

Place Names From Around the World: Girls

Here are some great names inspired by places around the world! (Girl Edition)