Place Names

Avelina

Spanish, place name

The feminine form of Avelino, a Spanish name after the Italian saint Andrea Avellino (which in itself comes from an Italian town also named Avellino). It was fairly well-used in Spain in the first…

Nara

Japanese place name or Celtic

"happy"

Soft, simple, and far more unusual than Tara or Farrah. As a Japanese place name, it's been used occasionally as a surname and is beginning to be used as a first. Nara is also the name of a Hindu…

Dayami

Malay, Cuban; "hay; place name"

"hay; place name"

Kenya

Place name, Kikuyu

"mountain of white"

Kenya, a name borrowed from the East African nation and theoretically unisex, is now used mostly for girls. While it's had its ups and downs since entering the US Top 1000 in 1968, it currently ranks…

Nazareth

Hebrew place name

"branch, shoot; watch, guard"

Nazareth, an important place in the New Testament as the hometown of Jesus, is on the rise as a name for both girls and boys. It's one of a handful of Biblical place names, along with Galilee and…

Rome

Place name, Latin, Greek

"to flow or hurry; strength"

The name of this historic European city is more distinct than Paris and London but sounds similar enough to the rising Romy and well-established Ramona and Rosemary that it doesn't feel totally out…

Kensington

Place name

Kensington is a place name with a number of referents; there are cities by the name in Australia, Canada, South Africa, the UK, and the US. As a girls' name, it entered the US Top 1000 in 2015,…

Avonlea

Place name

"river by a field"

As all good Anne of Green Gables buffs would know, Avonlea is the fictional Canadian town created by L. M. Montgomery that Anne Shirley considers home. The literary creation inspired a real Canadian…

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…

Jhersi

Spelling variation of Jersey, place name, Old Norse

"Geirr's island"

Likely an alternative form of Jersey, a name associated with reality TV, an island in the English channel, a US state, and knitted pullovers, Jhersi might follow the trend of adding Js and Hs to…

Enola

English literary name and place name, Cherokee

"alone; black fox"

Enola has a lot of potential as a name: it includes the stylish 'nola' sound; it follows a similar letter pattern to the likes of Elora, Elara, and Elodie; it has a hint of Nevaeh about it, given…

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.

Cairo

Place name, Arabic

"the strong; the conqueror"

On trend for boys but with plenty of unisex appeal too, the place name Cairo was put on the map for girls when model Beverly Peele chose it for her daughter. Given to around 50 girls each year, it…

Macarena

Spanish place name

"happy"

In America, it is inextricable from the popular '90s line dance, but Macarena is a traditional feminine name in Spain. It is used in honor of the Virgin of Hope of Macarena, an epithet of the Virgin…