American Place Names
Updated Tue Feb 06 2024
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American place names are becoming increasingly popular for babies, ranging from classic choices such as Virginia to trendy place names like Brooklyn and Dakota to American place names new to the first name lexicon, such as Chicago and Denali.
Really, almost anything goes when it comes to American place names that can be used as baby names. These can be not only state and city names, but mountain names, river names, and other names of natural places.
Included here are all kinds of American place names used as baby names, both popular and unique. Many place names are not traditionally gendered and so work well as unique nonbinary names.
The American place names for babies on this list are ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.
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- Charlotte
Origin:
French, feminine diminutive of CharlesMeaning:
"free man"Description:
Charlotte, the name of the young Princess of Cambridge, is the latest classic name to join Sophia, Emma, Olivia, and Isabella at the top of the popularity list. It is now among the most popular girl names in many English-speaking and European countries.
- Helena
Origin:
Latinate form of Helen, GreekMeaning:
"torch; shining light"Description:
Helena is a more delicate and dainty version of Helen, a favorite of Shakespeare, who used it in both All's Well That Ends Well and A Midsummer's Night Dream. Historically, Helena was the mother of Constantine the Great (and, supposedly, the daughter of Old King Cole), who became a fourth century saint--Evelyn Waugh wrote his only historical novel, Helena, based on her story.
- Lincoln
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"town by the pool"Description:
Lincoln cracked the Top 50 for boys' names for the first time in 2016, more than 150 years after the death of its most famous bearer. This is especially remarkable because, as crazy as it seems now, Lincoln was deeply out of fashion as recently as the late 90s, consistently hovering near the bottom of the Top 1000.
- Austin
Origin:
English, shortened form of Augustine, LatinMeaning:
"great, magnificent"Description:
Austin is one of the most attractive city names for babies, with an appealing southwestern feel and place-name panache.
- Phoenix
Origin:
Arizona place-name and GreekMeaning:
"dark red"Description:
Phoenix rolls a lot of cool trends into one: it's a place-name and a bird name, it ends in the oh-so-hip letter x, and as the mythic bird that rose from the ashes, it's a symbol of immortality.
- Zion
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"highest point"Description:
Zion has taken off in recent years, especially after singer Lauryn Hill used it for her son in 1997 and incorporated the name into a hit song. It combines a user-friendly Ryan-Brian sound with the gravitas of religious significance. The Hebrew pronunciation is 'tzeeyon'.
- Georgia
Origin:
English, feminine variation of GeorgeMeaning:
"farmer"Description:
Georgia is so rich, lush and luscious, it's almost irresistible. Georgia's now a rising star among the feminizations of George, helped by associations with the southern state (named for British King George II) and painter Georgia O'Keeffe, with the Ray Charles song "Georgia On My Mind" or maybe "Sweet Georgia Brown" playing in the background.
- Jackson
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"son of Jack"Description:
Jackson is one of those names that's much more popular than you think, coming in near the top of our annual Playground Analysis, which ranks names by grouping all their spellings together. There were nearly 17,000 baby boys named Jackson -- along Jaxon, Jaxson, Jaxxon, Jaxen, Jaxyn, Jaxsen, and Jaxsyn -- which counted together makes it the Number 3 boys' name.
- Cody
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"helpful, pillow"Description:
In the early 1990s, Cody was in the Top 25 most popular boys' names in the USA; but it has been in decline since then. It retains a greater degree of popularity in the UK, however. Cody might be short for Dakota but despite its nickname feeling, it's a name of its own.
- Nola
Origin:
GaelicMeaning:
"white shoulder"Description:
Nola, a name with a sleek, enigmatic quality, was used for the much-pursued heroine of Spike Lee's 1986 breakout film, She's Gotta Have It, and again by Woody Allen in Match Point. It's a short form of the traditional Irish name Fionnuala. Nola reentered the US Top 1000 in 2008, for the first time in 50 years.
- Orlando
Origin:
Italian variation of RolandMeaning:
"famous throughout the land"Description:
Orlando, the ornate Italianate twist on the dated Roland, with a literary heritage stretching back to Shakespeare and before, has appealing book-ended o's, and is open to combination with almost any last name, a la British actor, Orlando Bloom.
- Camden
Origin:
ScottishMeaning:
"winding valley"Description:
Camden is a surprise hit, probably as a result of some star baby cred: it has been chosen by no less than four celebrity parents since 2012. Camden is a Jersey Boy name, along with equally popular Trenton -- these are two cases where the names are more attractive than the places that inspired them.
- Madison
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"son of Matthew"Description:
Since we wrote a book called Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana, encouraging parents to move beyond overused names, it's no secret what we think of this trendy surname name, inspired by a mermaid named Madison in the 1980s movie Splash.
- Eugene
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"wellborn, noble"Description:
Eugene is a classic that has rather lost its way. On the one hand, it's a grandpa, even great-grandpa name that hasn't been one of the cool kids recently—or to quote Jim Carrey, who bears this name in the middle spot, "You can never get too cool with a name like Eugene." The hero of Disney's Tangled felt the same way, when he changed his birth name of Eugene to the more romantic Flynn.
- Aspen
Origin:
Nature and place-nameDescription:
Aspen is part of two groups of stylish and unique baby names: nature names and place-names. The name of a graceful tree in the poplar family with heart-shaped leaves so delicate they quiver in the gentlest breeze, Aspen is also the name of a trendy Colorado ski resort. Aspen started as a unisex name possibility but now is much more frequently worn by girls.
- Savannah
Origin:
SpanishMeaning:
"flat tropical grassland"Description:
A place name with a deep Southern accent, the once-obscure Savannah shot to fame, with others of its genre, on the heels of the best seller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which was set in the mossy Georgia city of Savannah. Originally a substitute for the overused Samantha, Savannah is now becoming overused itself, long among the top girls' names starting with S.
- Montgomery
Origin:
NormanMeaning:
"man power"Description:
This image of this distinguished Anglo-Scottish surname, drawn from the French place name of the ancient castle of Saint Foi de Montgomery, is rapidly shifting from fusty and formal to cool. And dashing short form Monty (or Monte) nudges it to cute.
- Sierra
Origin:
SpanishMeaning:
"saw"Description:
Sierra is a name borrowed from the western mountain range, with Latin rhythm and cowboy charm, that has led to many offshoots: Cierra, Cyara, and so on. It is now probably past its peak but retains its pretty-yet-strong sound. The meaning refers to the sharp, irregular peaks of some of the Western mountains such as the Sierra Nevada.
- Astoria
Origin:
Place nameDescription:
Long more associated with the New York Waldorf- hotel and the neighborhood in Queens than as a baby name, Astoria is finally beginning to emerge from their shadow and find favor with parents looking to move beyond Brooklyn. The name Astoria is drawn from the surname of titan of industry John Jacob Astor, theorized to mean "hawk."
- Olympia
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"from Mount Olympus"Description:
With its relation to Mount Olympus, home of the Greek gods, and to the Olympic games, this name has an athletic, goddess-like aura, making it the perfect Olivia substitute.