Place Names
Across 15 pages
of 15
Lupita
Spanish, “little wolf”
This lively pet name has recently been associated with Mexican-born Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o, acclaimed for her role in the 2013 film Twelve Years a Slave . The mother name Guadalupe, literally…
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…
Peru
Place name
An unexplored choice, evocative of the snowcapped Andes, with a pleasant, catchy sound.
Canaan
Biblical place name, Hebrew
"The Promised Land; humble, low"
Pronounced KAY-nan, this Old Testament place name has a strong modern feel that blends in with on-trend choices like Carter, Colton, and Kayson, but also with Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Tobias.…
Meribah
Biblical place name, Hebrew
"quarreling"
Though this Biblical place name is found among early American settlers, usually as a male name, today it sounds completely feminine. As a place name, its gender is mutable in any case. An unusual and…
Yaiza
Spanish place name
Not strictly Spanish but Guanche, the original inhabitants of the Canary Islands, this place name became popular as a first in Spain via a trilogy by Alberto Vazquez Figueroa. The Guanche meaning of…
Soho
place name
Both Soho and Noho--no-no.
Africa
Place name, various meanings
Most Africas today would be named for the continent, but the name actually existed in Scotland in medieval times, where there was a Celtic queen named Affrica. Africa has also been a Spanish name for…
Dayami
Malay, Cuban; "hay; place name"
"hay; place name"
Thessaly
Greek, place name, meaning unknown
The name of an area in northern Greece, known in the era of Homer's Odyssey as Aeolia, Thessaly makes a spirited and pretty place name. Reminiscent of Tessa, Rosalie, and Thea, the name likely…
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.
Anniston
English surname and American place name
"Anis' town; Annie's town"
A name with plenty of celebrity glamor and contemporary flair, Anniston has a variety of origins. On one hand, it's a place name, deriving from a city in Alabama of the same name. Founded in the late…
Leire
Basque place name
Also spelled Leyre and taken from the name of a monastery fortress, the popular and lilting choice in Spain will pose pronunciation problems elsewhere. Among the Top 100 girls' names in Spain, Leire…
Naiara
Basque place name
Basque name for a Spanish city where the Virgin Mary appeared in medieval times, now a popular girls' name throughout Spain.
Bronx
Place name
Rockers Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz put a new baby name on the map when they chose this downscale New York borough name for their son. The Bronx, the place, was named for early Dutch settler Jonas…
Louisianna
Spelling variation of Louisiana, French place name
LeeLee Sobieski, who knows a thing or two about unique names , chose this spelling twist for her daughter. Does the extra n make it more of a name and less of a place, or more of an invention and so…
Abalina
Variation of Abilene, place name
An obscurity, though with the popularity of Abigail and the rise of all names that start with A, may make an attractive choice.
Mosley
English place name and surname
"peat bog, mouse clearing"
Mosley, former best known as the surname of author Walter, has been put in play as a first name for girls by football great Peyton Manning, who used the name for his twin daughter, sister of…
Lathan
English surname or place name
Lathan is a surname recorded as relating to the towns of Layton or Latham and meaning, depending on its derivation, barn or leek farm or farm by the water. As a first name, it's reminiscent of the…
Percy
French surname from place name Perci-en-Auge
Percy is a traditional boys' name that could be cute and unexpected for a girl – perhaps as a short form for Persephone or Persis. Adventurous and literary Percy could follow in the footsteps of…