Names That Mean Place
Across 17 pages
of 17
Dyfed
Welsh place name
The historic name for the south-west corner of Wales, deriving from the British tribe of the Demetae.
Inari
Finnish place name; Japanese
"loaded with rice"
A unisex cultural crossover that has seen a little use from the 1990s onwards. In Japanese mythology, Inari is an androgynous deity associated with rice, tea and foxes. In Finland, it is the name of…
Thackery
Variation of Thackeray, English
"place with thatching"
A streamlined spelling of the classical British Thackeray — no wonder this is the more common variation in the US. Thackery makes a preppier, more unusual alternative to Zachary.
Jersey
English place name, Old Norse
"Geirr's island"
An established place name, associated with a sunny island in the English Channel, the Garden State in the US, knitted pullovers, reality TV, and a Broadway musical. It peaked in the late 2000s and…
Eiddyn
Welsh place name
Derived from Caeredin, the Welsh name for the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. The origin of this name element is lost in the mists of time.
Arfon
Welsh place name
Arfon is a centuries-old name the area of north-west Wales closest to Anglesey (in Welsh, Môn), so its name literally means "facing Anglesey". Its main town is Caernarfon, "fortress in Arfon". It is…
Chantilly
French place name
"white"
The name of a French city famous for its fine lace. Another association: Chantilly cream – a sweetened whipped cream apparently invented there in the 17th century by a chef at the Château de…
Chicago
American place name, Algonquin
"wild garlic"
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…
French
Surname, place name, word name
Actor French Stewart introduced this one to the lexicon. French is part word name, part place name, and part surname-name, reminiscent of celebrity baby names that reference a nationality rather than…
Calgary
Canadian place name
This Canadian city name would make a unique but very wearable choice for a son or daughter. Cal is a good nickname — skip Gary.
Italy
English variation of Italia, Italian place name
Why has it taken so long for us to discover Italy? The name, that is. For decades, we have been using Italian place names (and those adjacent) like Rome, Roman, Milan, Milana, Capri, Florence, and…
Lindos
Greek
"Ancient Greek place name"
Variant of Lindus
Cambric
English from French place name
"fine linen"
Loreto
Italian place name
A Pilgrimage site in Italy that also serves as a unisex given name.
Berian
Welsh place name
"open plain or burial place"
The meaning of the place name Berian, in Pembrokeshire, is not known, but it may mean "plain" or "burial place". It would make an interesting -ian ending option for lovers of names like Julian and…
Daytona
English place name
"Day's town"
Daytona Beach is a city in Florida named after founder Matthias Day in 1870. It is well-known as the home of NASCAR's Daytona International Speedway, the racetrack which hosts the Daytona 500. As a…
Hastings
English
English place name derived from the Anglo-Norman personal name Hasten or Haesta, made famous by the battle of 1066.
Palmyra
Greek, place name
"palm tree; pilgrim"
An ancient city in modern-day Syria, which occasionally makes the roster of girl names. Its etymology is uncertain — locally it is called Tadmor, and Palmyra is the Greek version — but it has…
Urgell
Catalan place name
A Catalan county name used for both girls and boys in its homeland.
Blakey
English surname and place name
"white or dark"
Variant of Blake, borne by the great jazz drummer Art Blakey.