place names i love

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.

Andorra is the pretty name of a pocket-sized princedom in the Pyrenees, noted for its skiing.

Athens is one of the newer place names, used for both baby boys and girls. The Greek city got its name from Athena, goddess of wisdom and courage.

Athens the city takes its name from Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and courage. If you prefer place names to mythological names and like gender neutral names better than those that are gender distinct, Athens may be a good alternative to Athena.

Edgy German capital with definite possibilities as a baby name.

Edgy German capital with definite possibilities as a baby name.

Cairo is an exciting place name possibility with upbeat o ending. It debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2015 and keeps heading upward.

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.

Chosen by the late Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa for their youngest daughter, there is renewed interest in Italian isola name Capri.

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.

This Biblical name was rising dramatically for boys, but has plateaued in recent years. Although it's more popular for girls, it's a delightful unisex choice. Eden is one of the Top 100 Boy Names in France.

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.

One of several fascinating names used in Charlaine Harris's Midnight, Texas books and the NBC adaptation thereof, Fiji is a pleasingly quirky place name that's been little used for babies. Though it has been used quite a lot for fancy bottled water, we don't think it quite qualifies as a water name.

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.

Unlike its somewhat formal Swiss city namesake, this is a lively and appealing place-name that also has a real history as a female name.

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.

The New Jersey cities of Camden and Trenton are in, but the name of the state has not caught on to anywhere near the same extent. The origin of the name of the British island of Jersey is not certain, but it may derive from the Norse name Geirr.

An established place name that sounds more appealing when you attach it to the British Isles than to the Garden State. Its etymology is not certain, but it may derive from the Norse name Geirr.

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 lower than spelling variant Kenia.