American Place Names

Alabama is a hot southern place-name, picking up from Georgia and Savannah. This is not a geographical name come lately, though--there have been girls named Alabama dating back well over a century.

There are two lovely Portlands, in Maine and Oregon, but not many babies with their name.

Mesa is both the term for a flat-topped mountain, derived from the Spanish word for "table", and the Thai variation of April.

Visitors to Hawaii's Garden Isle may want to commemorate the island's beauty with this place-name.

Cimarron is a Great Plains city and river name used by Edna Ferber as the title of a popular novel. The Cimarron people of Panama were previously enslaved Africans who had escaped from their Spanish masters and lived together in defiance of colonial rule. In the 1570s, they allied with Francis Drake of England to defeat the Spanish conquest.

A Puritanical virtue name and also a place name, belonging to the state capital of Rhode Island and several other towns and cities in the US.

This beautiful New Mexican pueblo locale has long attracted artists and skiers, and now may attract some baby namers as well.

Columbia is a rarely used name with many associations. From the eighteenth century it has been used as a female personification of the United States, often appearing as a flag-draped patriotic figure. And as such it's inspired a plethora of place and company names, from the District of Columbia to Columbia University to Columbia Records, and songs like "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean." A character called Columbia appears in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Viva Las Vegas? What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas? We think not. Maybe Vega, the name of an actual heavenly star?

A fun, unexpected way to honor your home state or a Mary in your life. As geographical girl names such as Ireland, Scotland, and Oakland slowly rise up the charts, Maryland could be a future favorite.

The state capital of Tennessee — and the capital of country music — has seen some use for boys in recent years, now that more parents are daring to use meaningful place names. While not as popular as Memphis, Nashville has a cool, laid-back charm... and has the option of Nash as a nickname.

The Maricopa people are a Native American tribe who have lived on the banks of the Gila River for centuries. The tribe calls themselves Piipaash or Piipaa (meaning "people") — the term Maricopa is borrowed from Spanish.

A rare geographical option which was given to six boys and fourteen girls in a recent year, Kansas is known for its prairies, sunflowers, and barbeque food. Also associated with The Wizard of Oz and the Old Wild West, the actual meaning of the state's name comes from that of a local tribe and has often been said to mean "people of the west wind".

Cool and breezy, Kansas is a rare geographical name, given to fourteen girls in a recent year. Known as the Sunflower State, Kansas is associated with rolling hills, vast prairies, and The Wizard of Oz, and its name, derived from that of a local tribe, has often been said to mean "people of the west wind".

A city name that sounds more legit than most because of its similarity to Peyton and other such names in circulation.

If you like your place names bold and undiscovered.

The name of the capital city of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County, which is thought to come from a Kansa word meaning "good place to grow potatoes".

Not yet on the place-name map, this name has Shakespearean ties via the Duke Of Albany character in King Lear.

Missouri, the name of a tribe, a state and a river, derives from the Illinois word mihsoori meaning "dugout canoe". It became a somewhat popular American girls' name in the mid-19th century.

One of the unisex western names that rode in with Dakota and Montana.