Nature, Place and Word Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 4 pages
of 4
German
"rich; powerful"
Riker gets relatively little use as a variation of Ryker, likely because of the connection to Riker's Island, the New York City prison. It was named after NYC magistrate Richard Riker, whose ancestor…
Word name
We've seen Haven take off as a nouveau girls' name; Harbor could follow in its wake.
English and Scottish
"treeless hill"
Unless it runs in your family, or Alexander Hamilton is your particular hero, you might consider something less imposing -- and without the teasable nickname Ham. Scottish curler Hamilton McMillan Jr…
Place-name from Dutch
"marshland"
It may be the hippest of hispter neighborhoods, but as a baby name Brooklyn is now on the decline: down from a peak of 120 births for boys in 1999, and over 7000 births for girls in 2011. The most…
American place-name
"Charles' town"
Charleston is one of those baby names that may become more popular thanks to its nickname Charlie, now used about equally for boys and girls. If you want to call your daughter Charlie but believe she…
Scottish surname or compound name
"barren heath, bare promontory; dark rose; honey rose"
Traditionally a Scottish surname, referring to a barren heath, a bare promontory, or headland, Melrose could also be viewed as a mashup of Melanie, Melissa and Rose, as in the case of model and…
Germanic, Scandinavian
"lives on a hill; mountain"
Norwegian city name, Bergen is a strong, rugged choice, that may feel stylish in that surname-or-city-inspired way of Brogan and Brooklyn, London and Bristol, Bexley and Reagan. Used originally to…
"powerful protector"
Richmond is a place-name — it's the capital of Virginia, US, and a town in London, UK — that makes a fresh way to honor an ancestral Richard.
English habitational surname, place name
"the noble's town"
Similar in sound to Arlo, Remington, and Arthur, this surname style and place name could make a patriotic choice in the US, with its connections to Arlington National Cemetery. Given to 7 girls and…
Beverley is a primarily feminine name (though historically used for both genders) with Old English origins meaning 'beaver stream' or 'beaver meadow.' Originally a place name in Yorkshire, England,…
English word, Old English
"an inlet of the sea where the land curves inward; berry"
One of the most usable of the pleasant, newly adopted nature/water names (like Lake and Ocean), especially in middle position. It's gentle, slightly whimsical, but grounded by its similarity to May…
English and Scottish surname
"dear friend's place"
When Matthew McConaughey and wife Camila Alves chose the old English surname and place name Livingston for their third child, they elevated it from half of a Stanley & Livingston joke to a modern…
Welsh and Romanian variation of Theodore, Teodor, or Theodoric
"gift from God; ruler of the people"
Known as a British royal family line as well as a style of architecture, this name feels both solemn and formidable, but with an intriguing "dark-academia" feel to it too. Currently in the Top 1000…
Munsee Lenape, Native American
"place for gathering the [wood to make] bows"
Manhattan is the smallest yet one of the most populous New York City boroughs. The area was historically inhabited by Munsee Lenape and Wappinger tribes of Native Americans, and the name Manhattan is…
Latin
"from the sea"
Marine was trending for a long time in France, but the far right politician Marine (born Marion) LePen has dampened the mood.
Irish
"rough peace"
Occasionally used in the African-American community to honor Jamaican activist Marcus Garvey, known as "Emperor of the Kingdom of Africa," though his first name is more frequently chosen. Another…
Place name
New Yorkers will recognize this as a Bronx place name, others will see it as a gussied-up female version of Morris.
English surname and place-name
"meadow by a stream"
English surname most notably used by Ashley Hebert for her son in 2014.
English, German, Norse, Danish tree name
"red, brown"
Strong, straight, and leafy, one of the new tree names used mostly as middles.
"unwilling"
A saucy Latin name that also defines a trendy New York area north of Little Italy.
