Nature, Place and Word Names
City Names for Babies
Across 6 pages
of 6
Geneva
Swiss place-name or French
"juniper tree"
Unlike its somewhat formal Swiss city namesake, this is a lively and appealing place-name that also has a real history as a female name. Geneva was a relatively popular American name at one time: it…
Genoa
Italian place-name
One of the newer geographical site names, it has the advantage of sounding like a real girl's name because of its jen beginning and feminine a ending.
Glasgow
Scottish place-name
An undiscovered place-name with an appealing o-sound ending.
Grey
Color name
The girls have Violet and Scarlet and Ruby and Rose, but for the boys there's a much more limited palette of color names. Grey/Gray is one exception, which could make for a soft and evocative—if…
Havana
Taíno place-name
Politics aside, the Cuban capital is one of the most rhythmic of place-names. The question is: can politics be put aside?
Irvine
Irvine is a masculine name derived from a Scottish place name and surname, ultimately from Celtic origins meaning 'green water' or 'fresh water,' referring to the River Irvine in Ayrshire, Scotland.…
Jakarta
Place name
Jakarta, the name of the capital and largest city of Indonesia, is located on the island of Java. Both Jakarta and Java could make interesting and unusual choices for a girl.
Juneau
Place-name
Juneau, the name of the city in Alaska, has rightfully taken a back seat as a name to the classic Juno. Most famous reference: When the pregnant teenager is introduced in the movie "Juno," the…
Kyoto
Place-name
Japanese city name not yet on the map for babies, but why not?
Lexington
English place name
Lexington is rising as a place name used just about evenly for the genders. For Americans, it's got a patriotic ring, given the importance of Lexington, Massachusetts in the Revolutionary War.…
Lourdes
Spanish, Portuguese, from French, meaning unknown
This name of the French town where a young peasant girl had a vision of the Virgin Mary in 1858 vaulted into the spotlight when Madonna chose it for her daughter, but few other families except for…
Luanda
African place-name
This name of Angola's capital city has occasionally been used for baby girls.
Lyon
French
"lion"
The y makes it seem more like a name and less like an animal, but it's still not as appealing as several Leo choices.
Macon
French place-name
What with Mason scooting up the charts, this attractive place-name, with its thick Georgia accent, could make a more distinctive alternative. Macon has played major roles in two novels, Anne Tyler's…
Manila
Place name
The name of the capital city of the Philippines is just conceivable as a baby name, giving off the faint scent of vanilla.
Marbella
Spanish place name
"beautiful sea"
The name of the resort city on Spain's Costa del Sol is pronounced mar-BAY-a, setting it apart from the bella-name competition -- though many English speakers won't realize that. And it probably…
Mesa
Spanish, Thai
"table; April"
Mesa is both the term for a flat-topped mountain, derived from the Spanish word for "table", and the Thai variation of April.
Miami
Place-name
Miami -- or Florida, for that matter -- hasn't achieved the place-name stardom of southern sisters like Savannah and Georgia. Quincy Jones used it as his daughter KENYA's middle name.
Nairobi
African place name
The capital of Kenya makes a melodic and worldly name.
Odessa
Russian form of Odesa, Ukrainian place-name
"voyage"
Odessa, (transcribed as Odesa in Ukrainian) is a Ukrainian port city and was given its name by Catherine the Great, who was inspired by Homer's Odyssey . It would make an original and intriguing…