User-created list
By silvertongue · Updated February 2023
Across 3 pages
of 3
Latin
"virginal, pure"
A literary name and a place name with a grand yet familiar feel, Virginia has been in the US Top 1000 since records began in the late 19th century. Also familiar in Spain, Brazil and Italy, recent…
Arizona place name and Greek
"dark red"
Phoenix is a New Age name symbolizing rebirth and immortality. It's also a place name, a color name, a mythological name, AND an animal name, combining several of today's hottest trends in one…
French place-name
Paris, a one-time mythical and Shakespearean boys' name, peaked in 2004 at Number 157 at least in part due to the highly publicized Paris Hilton. Michael Jackson used it for his daughter.
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.
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…
Place name, English
"landing place for chalk or limestone"
Chelsea is still being used, with about 400 baby girls named Chelsea in the US last year. But it was much more popular a few decades ago, peaking at Number 15 in 1992. Chelsea first entered the…
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…
Sioux
"people of a different language"
The name of a courageous tribe, Cheyenne became quite popular in the 1990s, inspiring a wide range of spelling variations—Shyanne is one example that's still on the rise.
Norman
"man power"
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…
English place-name
Devon, spelled like the lovely seaside county in Britain that inspired the name, has crashed since its heyday around the Top 100 in the 1990s. Despite its use as a female name, for example for Devon…
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…
Scottish
"winding valley"
Newly popular boys' name could cross over in much the way the related Cameron has.
Place name, from the River Indus
Euphonious and long stylish in England, India was one of the fastest-rising names on the 2013 list, after jumping 240 spots back into the Top 1000. Gorgeous as it may be, the usage of India as a name…
Given to children of both sexes as far back as colonial times, this carries a lot of baggage. However, parents continue to take the risk. Actress America Ferrera may be have inspired some families to…
English, place name meaning "bright town"
"bright town"
Brighton has long been known as a holiday resort town on the south coast of England. A cheery unisex name, it was used for his daughter by Jon Favreau, but was a boy on the TV show The Nanny .
English from Hebrew
"grass"
Abilene is a rarely used place name, mentioned as such in the New Testament, that combines the cowboy spunk of the Texas city with the midwestern morality of the Kansas town where Dwight D.…
Place-name from Papago Indian
"little springs"
We usually think of place-names as a modern invention, but in fact Arizona ranked on the US Top 1000 from its inception in 1880 until 1911, when it vanished below the surface. It peaked at Number 510…
This still attractive place name was one of the first to gain popularity, though it now probably owes some of its favor to the similar Aisha. Asia ranked as high as Number 195 on the US baby names…
American place-name
"land of the Indians"
Indiana is one of those place-names (think Camden and Trenton) that sounds cooler than the place that inspired it. Its fashionable -ana ending certainly sounds eminently name-like, and…
Greek
"from Mount Olympus"
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. A well-known art reference…
