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. Eisenhower spent his boyhood. Abilene is a much more untrodden path to the nickname Abbie/Abbie than the Top 10 Abigail.
 In 1857, Eliza Hersey named the frontier village of Abilene, Kansas after a vast plain described in Luke's gospel.
 Abilene is the title of a Sheryl Crow song, and the book The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate Dicamillo features a sweet character named Abilene.

Abilene

Adelaide is now heading straight uphill on the coattails of such newly popular sisters as Ava, Ada, and Audrey, and in the company of Adeline and Amelia. It was chosen by actress Katherine Heigl for the name of her second daughter.
 Adelaide gained fame as the noble German princess who married the British King William IV in 1830 and became known as "Good Queen Adelaide," inspiring the name of the Australian city and a craze for her name. Earlier, St. Adelaide was married to Otto the Great and became Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, described as "a marvel of beauty and goodness."
 When Aussie actress Rachel Griffiths (also mother of son Banjo) chose Adelaide for her daughter, she said she'd been inspired by the city, Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, and the Disney character in The Aristocats. Adelaide can also be found in works by Thomas Hardy and Agatha Christie.

Adelaide

State name Alaska stems from an Aleutian word for the land mass itself. The number of baby girls named Alaska has doubled in the past five years, and is sure to continue increasing as more place names are annexed as <a href="https://nameberry.com">baby names</a>. Wilder but as habitable as Dakota or Cheyenne, Alaska is a <a href="https://nameberry.com/girl-names">girls' name</a> choice for the future.

Alaska

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 choose the name. Ferrera's Honduras-born mother shares her unusual name.

America

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 in 1882, before Arizona became a state. One notorious vintage bearer: criminal "Ma" Barker, born Arizona Clark.
This unusual and evocative southwestern place name was picked for his daughter by former Everclear frontman Art Alexakis. It popped up as a first name on the quirky Dr. Arizona Robbins, introduced on Grey's Anatomy in 2009, played by Jessica Capshaw.

Arizona

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 <a href="https://nameberry.com/">baby names</a> popularity list in 1997. 
 In Greek myth, Asia is the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys and mother of, among others, Atlas and Prometheus.
 One of the best known modern bearers of the name is Italian actress, singer, and director Asia Argento, who is probably responsible for its popularity in Italy, where it ranks Number 35. Asia Monet Ray is a dancer featured on the hit television shows Dance Moms and Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition.

Asia

Aspen is part of two groups of stylish and unique baby names: <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/329/nature-baby-names">nature names</a> and place-names. The name of a graceful tree in the poplar family with heart-shaped leaves so delicate they quiver in the gentlest breeze, Aspen is also the name of a trendy Colorado ski resort. Aspen started as a unisex name possibility but now is much more frequently worn by girls.
 Aspen entered the popularity list in 1993 and is a good bet to start climbing higher as more and more parents respond to the appealing place and nature image it evokes.

Aspen

Long more associated with the New York Waldorf- hotel and the neighborhood in Queens than as a baby name, Astoria is finally beginning to emerge from their shadow and find favor with parents looking to move beyond Brooklyn. The name Astoria is drawn from the surname of titan of industry John Jacob Astor, theorized to mean "hawk."

Astoria

The capital of Georgia is far from the ocean, but got its name from the Western and Atlantic Railroad which ran through the city. Best known as a hub of industry and transport, and for its roles in the Civil War and Civil Rights Movement, it has never been popular as a baby name despite sounding like one. Its peak popularity was in 1995, the year before Atlanta hosted the Olympic Games.
As parents embrace more diverse place names for babies, beyond the obvious Georgia and Savannah, we may start to see more of Atlanta on the baby name map. Or add an extra letter to make it Atalanta, a bona fide (but even rarer) mythological name.

Atlanta

Austin is one of the most attractive <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/572/names-for-city-babies">city names for babies</a>, with an appealing southwestern feel and place-name panache.
 Austin has been an Anglo-Saxon surname and a first name since medieval times. Austin reached the Top 10 in the 1990s, but in 2022 slipped out of the US Top 100 for boys. 
 Literary namesakes include Austin Sloper in Henry James' novel Washington Square, and there have been several Austins in soap operas and films.
 The Austen spelling is also used fairly evenly for boys and girls, sometimes as an homage to Jane Austen.

Austin

The Brits say BARK-lee, but we pronounce it the same as the name of the California college: either way it's quite pretentious and of another era. 

Berkeley

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.

Boston

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.

Brighton

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 Bronck.  Might Bronx become the next Brooklyn?  We'd be surprised if it did.

Bronx

Extreme makeover: Brooklyn has gone from jokey Borough Boy name in the 1990s to a leading <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/girls-names/b">girls' name starting with B</a>. The status of New York's Brooklyn as hipster heaven is ironic as few bona fide Brooklyn hipsters would choose this name.
 Brooklyn first came into widespread public view via the first Beckham boy born in 1999, though it had already entered the lower ranks of the girls' list in 1990, rising to the double digits in 2005, as more and more parents began to see it less as a NYC place name by separating it into its highly name-y syllables – brook and lyn.

Theoretically unisex, Brooklyn is now 98 percent female, while variations Brooklynn and Brooklynne are all girl.

Brooklyn

Blyth

Model Beverly Peele put the international place name Cairo on the map when she chose it for her daughter; it's much less faddish sounding than closer place names like Dallas and Dakota.
 
The name of the ancient city was derived from the Arabic term al-Kahira, meaning "the strong."

Cairo

Camden is a surprise hit, probably as a result of some star baby cred: it has been chosen by no less than four celebrity parents since 2012. Camden is a Jersey Boy name, along with equally popular Trenton -- these are two cases where the names are more attractive than the places that inspired them.
 Camden Town is a hip area of London, noted for its busy open-air market.

Camden

Newly popular boys' name could cross over in much the way the related Cameron has. 

Languid, romantic, and classy, this variation heats up Caroline and modernizes Carol, adding a southern accent.
 Pronounced Caro-LINE-a in English-speaking countries, it is heard as Caro-LEEN-a in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. Nicknames can include Caro and Lina, as well as Carrie.
 A prominent bearer is Venezuelan fashion designer Carolina Herrera (born Maria Carolina), who has designed clothes for First Ladies from Jacqueline Kennedy to Michele Obama. A hauntingly melodic theme song in James Taylor's 'Carolina on My Mind.'

Carolina

Chelsea is still being used, but it was much more popular a few decades ago--it peaked at Number 15 in 1992. Chelsea first entered the American consciousness in a major way via the character Jane Fonda played in On Golden Pond in 1981 and later of course was frequently in the headlines when Chelsea Clinton (whose name was inspired by the lyric of a the Joni-Mitchell-Judy Collins song "Chelsea Morning") became First Daughter.

Chelsea

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. 

Cheyenne

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian have done it again for their third child: Chosen a name that feels iconic yet strangely inevitable. They named North and Saint's younger sister Chicago, after Kanye's hometown. The name Chicago derives from a Native American word for "wild garlic," which once grew plentifully in the Illinois city, the third most populous in the US.
 
Though one of the distinctly <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/519/american-baby-names">American names</a>, Chicago has almost never been used as a first name before. The Social Security Administration reported six baby girls and five baby boys named Chicago in 2018, following the starbaby birth. In the years that have followed, Chicago has always been given to more boys than girls.

Chicago

A Native American tribe name which is found in the names of two US states, Dakota was one of the first trendy nineties place names, but is now flagging a little in popularity. The cultural question around using a Native American tribe name as a baby name may be partly to blame.

 Young actress Dakota Fanning helped give it a feminine spin; Rosie O'Donnell chose it for her newborn daughter. Interestingly, Dakota is one of those rare truly<a href="https://nameberry.com/unisex-names">unisex baby names</a> used for almost exactly equal numbers of girls and boys.

Dakota

Relaxed, laid-back cowboy name with broad appeal and more staying power than you might guess: Dallas has ranked among the Top 1000 boy names in the US since records began in 1880.

Today, Dallas is increasingly a gender-neutral option, still given to three times as many baby boys as girls though the gap is narrowing. Still, Dallas's star as a boys' name continues to rise, up more than 100 places since the turn of the century.

For boys, Dallas might be considered one of those golden names that's trending but not trendy.

Dallas

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 on the TV show The 4400, Devon continues to be far more popular for boys than for girls.

Devon

Eden is an attractive, serene name with obvious intimations of Paradise, one of several place names drawn from the Bible by the Puritans in the seventeenth century.
 Eden entered the Top 1000 in 1989, and got a real bump in visibility when Desperate Housewives' Marcia Cross used it for one of her twin girls. There have been also Edens on the old soap opera Santa Barbara and the shows Heroes and Extras.
 Pronounced ED-en, Eden is also a Hebrew name for boys, though as EE-den it's gaining ground in the US for boys, now given to one boy for every four girls.

Eden

Florence is back, returning to the US Top 1000 girl names in 2017 after a nearly 40 year absence. Other English-speaking countries have been quicker to welcome Florence back into fashion. 
 
The name has a lot going for it, both for its floral feel and as a place name connection to the lovely Italian city (after which Florence Nightingale was named—it was her birthplace). The association to the city seems to be helping Florence stir back to life, along with cousin Flora.
 The band Florence + the Machine, headlined by red-haired Florence Welch, has also helped to rejuvenate its image.
 Florence was most popular in the US at the turn of the last century and in the early decades of the twentieth—it was in the Top 10 from 1886 to 1906. 
 Florence has a diverse mixture of namesakes and references—a character in Dickens's Dombey & Sons, a US First Lady (Harding), one of the Supremes, the Brady Bunch's Henderson, track and field star Florence Griffith Joyner, and several TV characters.
 Florence has some particularly lively nicknames—Flo, Flossie, and Florrie.

Florence

Lacks the cachet of some newer place-names. 

Florida

Georgia is so rich, lush and luscious, it's almost irresistible. Georgia's now a rising star among the feminizations of George, helped by associations with the southern state (named for British King George II) and painter Georgia O'Keeffe, with the Ray Charles song "Georgia On My Mind" or maybe "Sweet Georgia Brown" playing in the background. 

 Georgia is in fact a double place name, also belonging to an ex-Soviet state famous for the ancient monastery Vardzia and its rich culinary and wine-growing culture.

 Georgia has been chosen for their daughters by Harry Connick, Jr., Hope Davis, Amy Ryan, Zac Brown, Rebecca Gayheart and Eric Dane, and Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy.

Georgia

If you want to honor your grandfather Hal but can't work up much enthusiasm for his full name Harold, consider the more stylish (if a bit pretentious) capital of Nova Scotia. 

Halifax

Unless it runs in your family, or Alexander Hamilton is your particular hero, you might consider something less imposing -- and without the teasable nickname Ham. 

Hamilton

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 has distinctly imperial roots, making it a loaded (and ill-advised) choice for someone without Indian heritage.
 
India was a character in Gone with the Wind, the sister of Ashley Wilkes, and more recently was picked for the daughters of singer Sarah McLachlan, actress Heather Thomas, and Avenger Chris Hemsworth.
 
India Hicks is a high-profile ex-model with ties to the royal family, and the mother of a girl called Domino. Singer India.Arie was born India Arie — without the period.

India

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 Indie/Indy/Indi is one of the hottest <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/220/nicknames-for-girls">nickname names for girls</a> right now.

Indiana

Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin put Ireland on the map when they chose it as a first for their daughter, saying that geographic names were a family tradition. And it seems they were a bit ahead of the curve (or trendsetting)—Ireland has been among the fastest-rising names of recent years. Other Irish place names include Shannon, Kerry, Galway, and Dublin.

Ireland

Though it was used by the Puritans in the sixteenth century, the founding of the modern Jewish state in 1948 transformed Israel from a traditional favorite into an icon of Judaism. 
 In the Bible, Israel was the name bestowed by God upon Jacob after he wrestled with an angel.

Israel

Jordan became one of the top <a href="https://nameberry.com/unisex-names">unisex baby names</a> in the heyday of basketball's Michael Jordan, and is still among the most popular <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/unisex-names/j">unisex names starting with J</a>. The name was originally given to those baptized in holy water brought back by Crusaders from the River Jordan, the only river in Palestine, and the one in which Christ was baptized by John the Baptist.
 Celebrities with sons and daughters named Jordan include Taylor Hanson, Dierks Bentley, Dr. Phil and Kenny Rogers.

Jordan

Lincoln cracked the Top 50 for boys' names for the first time in 2016, more than 150 years after the death of its most famous bearer. This is especially remarkable because, as crazy as it seems now, Lincoln was deeply out of fashion as recently as the late 90s, consistently hovering near the bottom of the Top 1000. 

This admirable presidential choice with a stylish two-syllable sound projects the tall, rangy, upright, image of Honest Abe. Bill Murray is father to a son named Lincoln, and Kathryn Erbe's boy Carson has Lincoln for his middle name. Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard gender-bent it for their daughter. 
 Lincoln Steffens was an influential muckraking writer, author of The Shame of the Cities. Lincoln is also a Teen Mom name, which may have had some impact, and is a major character on TV's Broad City. 

Abraham Lincoln has also been a popular subject of fiction in his own right in recent years, having been the subject of revered short story writer George Saunders' first novel and an Academy Award winning movie by Steven Spielberg.
 The nickname Linc has a nice sixties 'Mod Squad' feel.

Lincoln

The capital of the United Kingdom makes a solid and attractive twenty-first-century choice, with a lot more substance than Paris. It's in the unisex column, with both girls and boys given the name in recent years.
 There was a rich girl character named London Tipton — inspired by Paris Hilton — on the Disney TV series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody beginning in 2005. Paris named her daughter London in 2023, continuing the city name theme and nodding to her Disney Channel facsimile.

London

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

Louisiana

Since we wrote a book called Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana, encouraging parents to move beyond overused names, it's no secret what we think of this trendy surname name, inspired by a mermaid named Madison in the 1980s movie Splash.
 
Madison originated as an English surname, a variant of Mathieson, meaning "son of Matthew." It is occasionally translated as "son of Maud," as Maddy was historically a nickname for Maud. It was introduced as a feminine given name when the mermaid character in Splash takes her name from a street sign on New York’s Madison Avenue..
 
Madison ranked in the Top 10 for nearly 20 years, from the late 1990s until 2015, and has been on a gradual decline since then. But there are still more than 5000 baby girls named Madison in the US each year (along with a few dozen baby boys).
 
Madison’s longtime popularity can be credited to its connection to several of the hottest naming trends of the 21st century so far. It’s a place name, the capital of Wisconsin, ala Savannah and Sienna. It’s also a surname with an Old Money veneer in the vein of Addison and Emerson that feels gender-neutral even if it’s not.
 
And it may have felt like a fresh way to get to the popular nickname Maddie or Maddy, though the classic Madelyn may have more staying power.

Madison

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.

Missouri

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 dashing short form Monty (or Monte) nudges it to cute. 
 Best-known bearer of the name is beautiful-but-tortured midcentury actor Montgomery Clift. Roger de Montgomery was a Norman nobleman who was made Earl of Arundel after he invaded England in 1066 and Sir Bernard Montgomery was a noted army commander in World War II. Montgomery is also the proper first name of Star Trek's engineer Scotty and, less flatteringly, the middle name of The Simpsons' evil Mr. Burns.

Montgomery

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 is the famous 1865 painting of a reclining nude by Edouard Manet titled Olympia. Contemporary bearers include former Maine Republican Senator Olympia Snowe and actress Olympia Dukakis.

Olympia

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 last name, a la British actor, Orlando Bloom.
 Orlando has an impressive literary résumé, including the poem "Orlando Furioso,", Handel's opera "Orlando", Shakespeare's As You Like It and Virginia Woolf's gender-bending novel. Most recently, Orlando was a character in The Wire.
 Orlando Bloom's name was inspired by that of the sixteenth century composer, Orlando Gibbons. It is also the first name of several outstanding athletes--including Orlandos Woolridge, Cabrera and Cepeda, and is, of course, a place name, home of Disney World in Florida.

Orlando

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.

Paris

Phoenix rolls a lot of cool trends into one: it's a place-name and a bird name, it ends in the oh-so-hip letter x, and as the mythic bird that rose from the ashes, it's a symbol of immortality. 
Phoenix is a fairly evenly-balanced unisex name, though it tilts slightly to the boys' side. Last year, it was given to 1300 baby boys and 1000 baby girls.

It's also got celebrity chops, via the acting family that includes Joaquin and the late River, and as the son of Paris Hilton.

Phoenix

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 appealing package.

Phoenix is also a fairly evenly-balance gender neutral baby names, given last year to about 1000 baby girls and 1300 baby boys. Scary Spice chose Phoenix for her daughter, and Paris Hilton used it for her son.

Attractive North Carolina place-name and surname of explorer Sir Walter Raleigh.  Distinctive, classy-but-approachable choice for either sex.

Raleigh

Richmond is a place-name — it's the capital of Virginia — that makes a fresh way to honor an ancestral Richard. 

Richmond

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 its own right throughout the Arabic world.

In the US, about 400 babies of both genders were named Salem last year, but it's difficult to say how many of those were given the Biblical place-name and how many the Arabic version of the name. About 40 percent of the Salems were boys, with a significant number of baby boys given an alternate spelling of the Arabic name, Salim. 

One negative association of the name, the menthol cigarette, went out of business in 2019

Salem

Salem is a biblical place-name in Canaan, believed to be the same as Jerusalem. Americans may be more familiar with Salem as the name of the Massachusetts town famous for its witch trials in the late 1600s. It's also a popular Arabic name widely-used for both genders.

In the US, the name probably is chosen for its Biblical connection more often for girls, who make up more than half the babies named Salem. On the boys' side, the alternate Arabic version Salim is used about a third of the time, while for girls the feminine Arabic versions of the name Salima and Salimah, are also found.

The Salem cigarette brand folded in 2019, removing that negative association for the next generation.

A place name with a deep Southern accent, the once-obscure Savannah shot to fame, with others of its genre, on the heels of the best seller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which was set in the mossy Georgia city of Savannah. Originally a substitute for the overused Samantha, Savannah is now becoming overused itself, long among the top <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/girls-names/s">girls' names starting with S</a>.
 Before that, there were Savannahs in the novel and movie The Prince of Tides, in the Terry McMillan hit novel and film Waiting to Exhale, played by Whitney Houston and, even earlier, in a 1982 movie called Savannah Smiles.
 Savannah has actually been on the popularity list since records started being kept in the 1880's; she's been in the Top 100 since 1993. Desperate Housewives' Marcia Cross chose Savannah for her twin daughter, and it's the name of Queen Elizabeth's first great-grandchild. And Savannah Guthrie can be seen every morning on the Today Show.

Savannah

When playwright Thomas Lanier Williams adopted the pen name of Tennessee, he created a new possibility among American place-names, although it's admittedly a bit bulky in size. 

Reese Witherspoon brought it back into the spotlight when she chose it for her son. While Tennessee's two most famous bearers are male, the name can work equally well for a child of any gender.

Tennessee

This name of one of the most romantic cities in the world could easily find its way onto an American baby girl's birth certificate. 

Venice

Verona is a scenic place-name with the added attraction of a Shakespearean connection, as in Two Gentlemen of....

Verona

Vienna is one of the more popular of the European place-names, with a particularly pleasant sound, evoking elegant images of the Blue Danube, of castles and cafes, sweets and sausages and Strauss waltzes—and Sigmund Freud. It could be a possible substitute for the popular Sienna. 
 While many see place-names as a recent invention, Vienna has been used as a name for centuries. It was, for instance, the name of a 15th century mother of a saint. Joan Crawford plays a strong-willed saloon keeper in the classic 1954 western drama Johnny Guitar. And there was also a Vienna in the F. Scott Fitzgerald story "The Bowl."
 Trivia tidbit: Vienna's Roman-era name was Vindobono.

Vienna

Virginia is a lovely place name starting with the fashionable V and having deep historical roots, yet, unlike some other other girls' classics, has been sorely neglected in recent years. 
 The colony/state of Virginia was given its name by Sir Walter Raleigh in honor of Elizabeth I, known as the Virgin Queen, and the first child to be born of English parents in the New World was christened Virginia Dare.
 Virginia was in the Top 10 for 25 years, from 1912 to 1937, hitting a high of Number 6 in 1921, when there were 19,000 newborn Virginias in their cradles.
 She does have a couple of possible downsides—those teasable virgin associations, and the not-quite-ready-for-revival Ginny nickname. But we think they're outweighed by more positive factors, and Virginia is in line for a possible revival.
 Virginia has such distinguished namesakes as writer Virginia Woolf, has been the subject of songs by groups ranging from The Rolling Stones to the Foo Fighters, and has appeared as a character in a number of books, movies, and TV shows—currently co-starring on Masters of Sex. Ginger Rogers was born Virginia.

Virginia

silvertongue's list "Cute and Quirky Place Names" of 60 great name ideas: Abilene - Virginia!

Cute and Quirky Place Names

A collection of names inspired by places around the world, from far afield and right in your own backyard.