Place Names for Babies

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

The rural Imo State in southeast Nigeria is named after the Imo River, which runs through it. An obscure but intriguing possibility as a first name.

Kiska is a Alaskan volcano island that has the sort of brisk sound to it that makes it fit in with both old names like Saskia and modern names like Pax.

The capital of Peru makes a rare but attractive girl name.

This is the Italian way to say Venice -- Ven-ETZ-ee-a -- but you might also opt for the softer Venetia or Venice itself.

The unique O-ending makes this name memorable, especially for someone with ties to Texas.

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

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.

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.

One of several fascinating names used in Charlaine Harris's Midnight, Texas books and the NBC adaptation thereof, Fiji is a pleasingly quirky place name that's been little used for babies. Though it has been used quite a lot for fancy bottled water, we don't think it quite qualifies as a water name.

When Kim Kardashian and Kanye West named their daughter Chicago — after West's hometown — we expected it to rise for baby girls. But American parents have taken to Chicago as a boy name. It's been given to more boys than girls every year since 2018.

An unexplored choice, evocative of the snowcapped Andes, with a pleasant, catchy sound.

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.

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