Place Names
Across 15 pages
of 15
Kensington
Place name
A posh area of London, as well as being a section of Brooklyn, Kensington would make an overly formal, butlerish boy's name. There are several preferable paths to the nickname Ken, including KENYON,…
Morrisania
Place name
New Yorkers will recognize this as a Bronx place name, others will see it as a gussied-up female version of Morris.
Soho
place name
Both Soho and Noho--no-no.
Indio
Spanish
"Indian"
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…
Russia
Russian place name
Consider ODESSA instead.
Hemingway
English place name
No matter how much you love the novels of Papa H., don't saddle your son with this unwieldy appellation.
Umbria
Italian place name, from the Umbri, one of the chief tribes settling the Italian nation
Umbria is a lovely, virtually unused Italian name for girls , reflecting the beautiful rolling hills of the area's countryside. And since it's right next door to Tuscany, in which Siena resides,…
Cathay
Anglicized version of Italian Catai; place name
A perfect example of what a difference a single letter can make. Add an 'a' to the ho-hum Cathy and you have the old name for China, often used by such poets as Edna St. Vincent Millay and Ezra Pound.
Jakarta
Place name
Jakarta, the name of the capital and largest city of Indonesia, is located on the island of Java. Both Jakarta and Java could make interesting and unusual choices for a girl.