Place Names for Boys!

Hudson

English place-name and surname

"Hugh's son"

Hudson has risen quickly up the charts over the past 30 years, getting a lot of its style value from New York's Hudson River. That makes it a nature name and a place name that's also got the fashion…

Austin

English, shortened form of Augustine, Latin

"great, magnificent"

Austin is one of the most attractive city names for babies , with an appealing southwestern feel and place-name panache. Austin has been an Anglo-Saxon surname and a first name since medieval times.…

Antonio

Spanish and Italian variation of Anthony

"from Antium"

Antonio is a Shakespearean favorite -- the Bard used it in no less than five of his plays, and has long been a ubiquitous classic in Spanish-speaking countries, where the nickname Tonio is also…

Dallas

Place name, surname and Irish

"meadow dwelling, valley house, skilled"

A laid-back cowboy name which feels both cool and gentle, Dallas has ranked in the US Top 500 since records began in 1880. Never super popular but surprisingly never out of style, Dallas is given to…

Cody

English

"helpful, pillow"

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…

Francisco

Spanish, Portuguese

"free man"

Francisco is one of the more popular Spanish names for boys in the US, which is unsurprising given its popularity back in Spain and Portugal as well as Latin America, coupled with its classic status.…

Phoenix

Arizona place-name and Greek

"dark red"

Effortlessly cool with a hint of the mystical, Phoenix rolls a lot of trends into one: it's a place-name and a bird name, it ends in the stylish letter x, it's got in-built nicknames, and it's unisex…

Cairo

Egyptian place-name, Arabic

"the conqueror, the victorious"

Cairo is an exciting place name possibility with upbeat o ending and an on-trend first syllable. Debuting in the US Top 1000 in 2015, it has been climbing ever since, and, as of 2023, it is given to…

Rome

Place name, Latin, Greek

"to hurry or flow; strength"

Given that Rome is arguably the most important city in European history, it has been used as a first name remarkably little. However, with Roman in the Top 100 and one-syllable choices in vogue, it…

Denver

English or French place-name and surname

"green valley; from Anvers"

Before there was Aspen, Denver was the Colorado city name of choice, and it reentered the US Top 1000 in 2015 after a 14 year absence as a stylish two-syllable boy name with its trendy -er ending.…

Boston

Place-name

Unseen in the USA since 1901, Boston rocketed back into the Top 1000 in 2004 and, like other place-names such as Brooklyn, London and Paris, is now a reliable presence on the list.

Houston

Scottish

"Hugh's town"

Looking for a Texas name more distinctive than Austin and Dallas? Houston is a lanky, roguish place-name, right in style with its Texas accent and cowboy image.

Salem

Biblical place-name or Arabic

"safe"

Salem is a Biblical place name in Canaan, believed to be the same as Jerusalem, as well as the Massachusetts town famous for its late 17th century witch trials. Salem is also a popular first name in…

Orlando

Italian variation of Roland

"famous throughout the land"

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…

Bronx

Place name

Rockers Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz put a new baby name on the map when they chose this downscale New York borough name for their son. The Bronx, the place, was named for early Dutch settler Jonas…

London

Place-name

"Capital city of England"

In the US, London is popular for both sexes, though as the name has risen for girls, it's levelled off for boys. Currently given to around 200 boys each year, it is nearly five times more popular for…

Montana

Spanish place-name; "mountainous"

"mountainous"

Relaxed western place-name that still has some masculine punch, but be warned: this whole posse of similarly trendy names, like Sierra and Dakota, will soon ride toward the sunset.

Canyon

Spanish word name

Canyon is a unique baby name evocative of natural splendor and the old Steve Canyon comic-strip heroism, making it an intriguing new word-name possibility. Similar but less word-like: Kenyon.

Chad

English

"battle warrior"

Despite all the "hanging," "dangling," and "pregnant" chad jokes of the 2000 election, this saint's name and remnant of the Brad-Tad era didn't get a boost in popularity. But Chad still holds some…

Paris

French place-name

The first famous Paris was a mythological prince of incredible beauty. The most recent was media darling Paris Hilton, inspirer of a generation of baby-girl namesakes. But since Pierce Brosnan and…