Place Names For Baby Boys

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.…

Jordan

English from Hebrew

"flowing down"

Jordan became one of the top unisex baby names in the heyday of basketball's Michael Jordan, and is still among the most popular unisex names starting with J . The name was originally given to those…

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…

Milan

Italian place name, Slavic, Sanskrit

"middle of the plain; gracious, dear; union"

Effortlessly stylish with an international feel, Milan re-entered the US charts back in 2013 after a 55 year hiatus. It has been powering up the charts ever since, following in the footsteps of sweet…

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…

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

"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 boys’ name with its trendy -er ending.…

Memphis

Greek and Coptic place-name

"Enduring and beautiful"

A place name with plenty of history, Memphis is associated with the place in Ancient Egypt where many of the pyramids were built, and with the bluesy US city that was named after it. With its lovely…

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.

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…

Harlem

Place-name

"home on a forested dune"

With Brooklyn, Trenton, and Camden on the rise, Harlem is one to watch out for. It has lingered down the lower end of the US Top 1000 since 2018 but has been trending upwards. It's already been…

Charleston

American place-name

"Charles' town"

Lovers of the languid South Carolina city might be attracted to this rich-sounding name. Could make an interesting update on Charles -- and can certainly work for a girl too. Actor Joey Lawrence used…

Tennessee

Native American, Cherokee, place-name

"bend in the river or meeting place"

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…

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…

Lexington

English place name

Lexington is trending as a unisex name, used just about evenly for the genders. For Americans, it's got a patriotic feel, given the importance of Lexington, Massachusetts in the Revolutionary War.…

Bristol

British place-name

"site of the bridge"

This name of a busy British port city -- as well as of several places in America -- has a brisk and bustling air. It will now--and for years to come--be identified as a Sarah Palin name, chosen for…

Detroit

Place name

Detroit, the name of the down-on-its-heels Michigan city, has a so-far-out-it's-gotta-be-cool quality. A handful of boys were named Detroit last year, and if you have ties to the Motor City --…

Berlin

German

"borderline"

Edgy German capital with definite possibilities as a baby name.

Dublin

Irish place-name

With Galway and Ireland in play as names (not to mention Shannon and Kerry), there's no reason this one can't work, too.

Oxford

English place-name

"from the oxen crossing"

High-collared and straightlaced, with the deadly "Ox" nickname.