Place Names for Babies

Leyre is an important name in Navarre, Spain, as it is both the name of a mountain and an ancient monastery. It is derived from the Basque Leire, of uncertain origins. Both spellings currently rank among the Top 100 baby names in Spain.

Leyre

Influencer couple Rachel and Jordan Flom put Brisbane on the baby name map when they used it for one of their triplet sons, born in 2024. Australian place names — from Adelaide to Sydney to Victoria — have long been favorites among parents, but Brisbane has a more modern, gender-neutral appeal.
 
The Australian city was named after the Brisbane River, itself named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, a governor of New South Wales. Sir Brisbane was of Scottish descent, as was his surname — a traditional Scottish clan name from a nickname for one with broken bones or who would break others' bones. Ultimately, it is derived from the Scottish Gaelic bris, meaning "break" and the Old English bān, "bone".

Brisbane

Now deeply associated with the gemstone Lapis Lazuli, Lazuli is derived from one of the places where the stone was first mined. The word Lazuli is the root for words like azure. Lapis Lazuli is a deep and rich blue color and was used for pigments and jewellery.

Lazuli

Larsa was the name of a city-state in Sumer, an ancient Mesopotamian civilization. It is occasionally used as a baby name in Arabic-speaking cultures, as well as in Sweden, where Larsa is a feminization of Lars.

Larsa

This lovely surname of the three novel-writing sisters, now used as a baby name, makes a fitting tribute for lovers of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. While the original name took an umlaut over the e, modern English speakers may find that more trouble than it's worth (though big fans of the Brontës may well disagree).
 Trivia note: The Anglo-Irish clergyman who was the father of Charlotte, Emily and Anne changed his name from the original Brunty. According to scholars, the family pronounced the name bron-tee, though today, you're likely to hear this pronunciation used interchangeably with bron-tay. 
 
In Australia, the name is more likely to take inspiration from Bronte Beach in Sydney. It was named after Lord Nelson, the 1st Duke of Bronté. He got his title from a town in Sicily, itself named after a mythological Cyclops.
 Many people first noticed the name in the film Green Card, as the name of the Andie MacDowell character.
 
Familiarly used in the 90s and early 2000s in the UK, Bronte fell out of style in the 2010s, but more recently, it has been coming back in a big way. In the latest stats, it ranked just outside the Top 500 in England and Wales, while in the US, it was given to just 14 girls.

Bronte

We've seen babies with Texas city names like Austin, Houston and Dallas--, why not the unexplored Laredo, which has a lot of cowboy charisma? Laredo might make for a more modern and creative namesake for an Uncle Lawrence/Larry--as could the related Laramie.
 There was a 1960s TV Western series about the Texas Rangers titled "Laredo." There is also a famous cowboy ballad, "Streets of Laredo," recorded by Johnny Cash, and a Band of Horses song called simply "Laredo."

Laredo

Beautiful downtown Burbank -- about as glamorous a place-name as Akron...or Detroit. 

Burbank

It's a place. It's a wine. It's a color. -- no wonder trend-heavy Burgundy's been discovered as a name. 

Burgundy

Burlington

Less-traveled member of this fashionable group, with less than attractive sound. 

Burma

One place-name that's far off the beaten track, and better for girls, despite the connection with the dated Irma. 

Lansing is perhaps best known as the state capital of Michigan, which was named after the town of Lansing, New York. The original Lansing was named in honor of John Lansing Jr., a Chancellor of New York and mayor of Albany. He was of Dutch parentage.
 
The Dutch form of Lansing means "son of Lans," a Dutch personal name related to Lance and Lanzo. The English variant has different roots and is derived from the given name Wlanc, meaning "proud."

Lansing

British place-name unlikely to evoke much passion in any baby namer. 

Lancaster

Undiscovered name of picturesque northern French port. 

Calais

Caledonia is a rhythmic and alluring place name used by singer Shawn Colvin for her daughter.  It would make an interesting and apt choice for a girl with Scottish ancestry.

Caledonia

 come from all over the globe and can include 

, state names, country names, even mountain and ocean names.

Place names have become so widely used that popular place names make a category of baby names all on their own. Most place names can be used for either baby girls or baby boys, and many can be considered true 

Along with Top 10 Charlotte, which in fairness was a person name before it was a city name, place names ranking among the 

 for baby girls include Madison, Savannah, Brooklyn, London, Sienna, Dakota, and Aspen.

, with Austin, Kingston, Camden, Zion, Israel, and Phoenix also ranking in the Top 300.

 are less widely-used for babies in other countries than they are in the US. Florence and Georgia rank in Britain's Top 100, but those place names have both been used as baby names for centuries. In the Netherlands, Milan ranks among the 

. But many other European and English-speaking countries don't rank any place names at all among their top names for babies.

Here, the most popular place names used for both girls and boys.

Baby names taken from places, including country names for babies, city names for babies, and state names for baby girls and boys, with meanings, origins, and popularity (Page 37)