Country And Capital Names

India

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…

Ireland

Place name

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…

Israel

Hebrew

"he who struggles with God"

Israel joins the club of traditionally male names that celebrity parents have adopted for their daughters. Singer Andy Grammer welcomed daughter Israel "Izzy" Blue in 2020.

Italy

English variation of Italia, Italian place name

Why has it taken so long for us to discover Italy? The name, that is. For decades, we have been using Italian place names (and those adjacent) like Rome, Roman, Milan, Milana, Capri, Florence, and…

Jakarta

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.

Jamaica

Native American place name

"rich in springs"

Among the least gimmicky, most appealing and colorful of all the names found in the atlas, Jamaica almost sings out the rhythms of the West Indies. Part of the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean,…

Jerusalem

Place name

"city of the ancient god Shalem"

Transferred from the geographical name, Jerusalem is a sacred city in many religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is given to around a dozen babies of each sex per year…

Kenya

Place name, Kikuyu

"mountain of white"

Kenya, a name borrowed from the East African nation and theoretically unisex, is now used mostly for girls. While it's had its ups and downs since entering the US Top 1000 in 1968, it currently ranks…