Nature, Place and Word Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 6 pages
of 6
African place-name
This name of Angola's capital city has occasionally been used for baby girls.
African place name
The capital of Kenya makes a melodic and worldly name.
Place-name
With so many other places translating to first names, why not this major Japanese city -- especially if it holds some personal significance.
Japanese city name not yet on the map for babies, but why not?
Son of Sicily.
Greek place-name
"brotherly love"
Place-name mentioned in the New Testament and not yet on the name map. Philadelphia Thursday was the character played by Shirley Temple in John Ford's 1948 "Fort Apache."
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.
Latin
"apple"
This name of the Roman goddess of fruit trees is also associated with a suburban town in Southern California.
English
"land near the port"
There are two lovely Portlands, in Maine and Oregon, but not many babies with their name.
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.…
Spanish
"the town"
Sandy southwestern feel.
An interesting Canadian province and city name that has some literary history as the name of a character in Dickens's Bleak House ; could make a distinctive choice for parents with northern roots.
Spanish, Place-name
Quito is a place-name (it's the capital of Ecuador) with lots of lively energy--as long as it's pronounced correctly.
Scottish place-name
An undiscovered place-name with an appealing o-sound ending.
The name of the capital city of the Philippines is just conceivable as a baby name, giving off the faint scent of vanilla.
Associated with the poet and novelist Galway Kinnell, this name of an Irish city, county, and bay would make an evocative choice. For further literary cred, writers Liam O'Flaherty and Frank Harris…
Irish place-name
With Galway and Ireland in play as names (not to mention Shannon and Kerry), there's no reason this one can't work, too.
British place-name
Two-syllable place-names are stylish, and this one is attached to a British city noted for its white chalk cliffs, but there are a couple of minuses: associated with the fish, Dover sole, and also…
Spanish place-name
This legendary Andalusian city, according to myth founded by Hercules, is an undiscovered baby name destination.
Unexplored Moroccan place name, conjuring up images of camels and palm trees and domed minarets.
