American Place Names

Louisiana is a geographic spin on the Louise theme. Pretty, if a bit of a syllable overload. Short form Lou or Lulu lightens it.

An established place name, associated with a sunny island in the English Channel, the Garden State in the US, knitted pullovers, reality TV, and a Broadway musical. It peaked in the late 2000s and though it is now in decline, 130 girls and nearly 50 boys received the name in 2023.

-ey meaning "island". Alternative theories suggest it comes from jarl ,meaning "earl" or hjǫr meaning "sword".

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."

After Dallas, Austin, and Houston, the new cowboy on the block. Old-school Western nickname: Tex.

Fargo as a baby name? Though we haven't heard of any babies named for this frigid North Dakota city, it's certainly on the map of possibilities.

Named for its snowcapped mountains, Nevada is a state name which, unlike Carolina, Montana, and Dakota, has been relatively undiscovered. Warning: today's unvisited place-name could become tomorrow's trampled tourist attraction.

Lincoln, Tyler, Taylor, Jackson, Jefferson, Harrison, McKinley, Grant, Kennedy, Carter -- yes. Washington -- probably not.

A capital place-name possibility.

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.

Lovers of the languid South Carolina city might be attracted to this rich-sounding name. Could make an interesting update on Charles -- and can certainly work for a girl too. Actor Joey Lawrence used it for his daughter.

The name of a city in New Hampshire which takes its name from the Nashua River, named by the Indigenous Algonquian tribe the Nashuway or Nashua. A striking alternative to Joshua.

This would make a startling but likable choice; poet Dylan Thomas used it for a character in his play "Under Milk Wood."

Alaska's second most populous city makes a baby name with a preppy, even aristocratic, flavor.

Lexington is trending as a unisex name, used just about evenly for the genders. For Americans, it's got a patriotic feel, given the importance of Lexington, Massachusetts in the Revolutionary War. Lexington, Kentucky, in horse country, is another well-known city with the name. Short form Lex is user friendly.

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

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.

Rochester was Jack Benny's famous valet and sidekick, played by early African-American comic Eddie Anderson.

A presidential and place-name that's not a stand-out in either category.

Overly trendy western place-name, as stated in the title of our book Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana.

A possibility for your li'l cowgirl.