Naming your baby after a geographical location in the world can be a great idea: it's modern, different and can be a brilliant way to pay tribute to a special place that means something to you or your heritage. It can also signal adventure, and a growing ambition to go places, see things and change the world.

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We know how long it can take to settle on the right baby name. So, we’ve done all the prep work for you here and narrowed things down to a list of the best place baby names, each with their origin and the location of the place they're named after.

We've included the place names for boy and girls inspired by cities and towns, as well as place names inspired by countries and special places – and we've also listed lots of great unisex place names, too.

Here's our list of the best place baby name ideas...

Baby boy names inspired by cities | Baby girl names inspired by cities | Gender-neutral baby names inspired by cities | Baby boy names inspired by countries | Baby girl names inspired by countries | Gender-neutral boy names inspired by countries | Baby names inspired by special places

Baby boy names inspired by cities and towns

Some of the world's big population centres – and some smaller hometowns too – make great names for baby boys: strong and unusual, with a big nod to the vibe of the country the city or town is located in. Here are some of our favourites:

1. Afton

  • Origin: Swedish/Scottish
  • Meaning: after the city in Washington County, Minnesota, US; also a hamlet in the Isle of Wight, England

2. Alton

  • Origin: English
  • Meaning: after the town in Hampshire, England

3. Austin

  • Origin: Latin
  • Meaning: after the capital of Texas, US

4. Boston

  • Origin: British
  • Meaning: after the state capital of Massachusetts, US; also a town in Lincolnshire, England

5. Bronx

  • Origin: American
  • Meaning: after the borough in New York, US

6. Cairo

  • Origin: Arabic
  • Meaning: after the capital of Egypt

7. Camden

  • Origin: British
  • Meaning: after the borough in London, England

8. Charleston

  • Origin: English
  • Meaning: after the city in South Carolina, US

9. Chester

  • Origin: English
  • Meaning: after the county town of Cheshire, England

10. Cruz

  • Origin: Portuguese/Spanish
  • Meaning: after the city in Ceará, Brazil

11. Denver

  • Origin: French
  • Meaning: after the capital city of Colorado, US

12. Devon

  • Origin: British
  • Meaning: after the county in south-west England

13. Diego

  • Origin: Spanish
  • Meaning: after the city of San Diego, California, US

14. Francisco

  • Origin: Latin
  • Meaning: after the city of San Francisco, California, US

15. Hudson

  • Origin: British
  • Meaning: after the city in New York State, US

16. Houston

  • Origin: Scottish and Irish
  • Meaning: after the city in Texas, US

17. Jackson

  • Origin: English
  • Meaning: after the city in Mississippi, US

18. Jericho

  • Origin: Arabic and Hebrew
  • Meaning: after the town in the Jordan River Valley in modern Palestine

19. Juneau

  • Origin: Latin
  • Meaning: after the city in Alaska, US

20. Kent

  • Origin: Celtic
  • Meaning: after the county in south-east England

21. Kingston

  • Origin: British
  • Meaning: after the capital of Jamaica

22. Lincoln

  • Origin: English
  • Meaning: after the cathedral city and district in Lincolnshire, England

23. Memphis

  • Origin: Egyptian/Greek
  • Meaning: after the city in Tennessee, US

24. Orlando

  • Origin: Spanish
  • Meaning: after the city in Orange County, Florida, US

25. Rhodes

  • Origin: Greek
  • Meaning: after the city located northeast of Crete, southeast of Athens

26. Rio

  • Origin: Spanish
  • Meaning: after the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

27. Rome

  • Origin: Latin
  • Meaning: after the capital city of Italy

28. Sorrento

  • Origin: Italian
  • Meaning: after the town in south-west Italy

29. Stirling

  • Origin: Scottish
  • Meaning: after the city in Scotland

30. Tokyo

  • Origin: Japanese
  • Meaning: after the capital city of Japan

31. Troy

  • Origin: Greek
  • Meaning: after the ancient city of Troy

32. York

  • Origin: English
  • Meaning: after the city in Yorkshire, England
baby sitting in front of an inflatable globe

Baby girl names inspired by cities and towns

There are a good number of urban centres that have a distinctly girl-sounding name – and often ending in 'a' or 'e'. We've picked a tip-top selection from all over the globe:

33. Adelaide

  • Origin: German
  • Meaning: after the capital city of South Australia

34. Antalya

  • Origin: Greek
  • Meaning: after the city in Turkey

35. Arizona

  • Origin: Spanish
  • Meaning: after the US state

36. Augusta

  • Origin: Latin
  • Meaning: after the city in Georgia, US

37. Camayenne

  • Origin: French
  • Meaning: after the city in Conakry, Guinea

38. Capri

  • Origin: Italian
  • Meaning: after the Italian island in the Bay of Naples

39. Carolina

  • Origin: Latin
  • Meaning: after the US states of North or South Carolina

40. Catalina

  • Origin: Greek
  • Meaning: after an island off the coast of California, US; also the Spanish island Santa Catalina

41. Carmel

  • Origin: Hebrew
  • Meaning: after the city in Indiana, US; also the Californian city, Carmel-by-the-Sea

42. Charlotte

  • Origin: French
  • Meaning: after a city in North Carolina, US

43. Chennai

  • Origin: Indian
  • Meaning: after the capital city of Tamil Nadu in India

44. Cheyenne

  • Origin: Lakota
  • Meaning: after the city in Wyoming, US

45. Dakota

  • Origin: Native American
  • Meaning: after the US state

46. Dallas

  • Origin: Scottish
  • Meaning: after the city in Texas, US

47. Ebonyi

  • Origin: Latin and Greek
  • Meaning: after the state in Nigeria

48. Florence

  • Origin: Latin
  • Meaning: after the city in Italy

49. Georgia

  • Origin: Greek
  • Meaning: after the US state

50. Islay

  • Origin: Scottish
  • Meaning: after the Scottish island

51. Lille

  • Origin: Old French
  • Meaning: after the city in northern France

52. Louisiana

  • Origin: German
  • Meaning: after the southern US state

53. Marietta

  • Origin: Egyptian
  • Meaning: after the city in Georgia, US

54. Milan

  • Origin: Slavic
  • Meaning: after the city in Italy

55. Montana

  • Origin: Spanish
  • Meaning: after the US state

56. Nara

  • Origin: Japanese
  • Meaning: after the capital of Nara prefecture, Japan

57. Nevada

  • Origin: Spanish
  • Meaning: after the US state

58. Puebla

  • Origin: Spanish
  • Meaning: after the city and state in Mexico

59. Regina

  • Origin: Latin
  • Meaning: after the capital of Saskatchewan province, Canada

60. Rochelle

  • Origin: French
  • Meaning: after La Rochelle, a city in France

61. Roma

  • Origin: Italian
  • Meaning: after the capital city of Italy

62. Savannah

  • Origin: Spanish
  • Meaning: after the city in Georgia, US

63. Sienna

  • Origin: Italian
  • Meaning: after the Italian city of Siena

64. Sonora

  • Origin: Swahili
  • Meaning: after Sonora state in Mexico

65. Valencia

  • Origin: Latin
  • Meaning: after the city in Spain

66. Vienna

  • Origin: Latin
  • Meaning: after the capital of Austria

67. Zaria

  • Origin: Slavic
  • Meaning: after the city in Nigeria

Gender-neutral baby names inspired by cities and towns

Of course, you may not want to give your baby a name that loudly screams 'boy' or 'girl' – in which case, check out these unisex baby names based on towns and cities the world over:

68. Brooklyn

  • Origin: Dutch
  • Meaning: after a borough of New York, US

69. Boston

  • Origin: English
  • Meaning: after the city in Massachusetts, US

70. Bristol

  • Origin: English
  • Meaning: after the city in England

71. Cali

  • Origin: Spanish
  • Meaning: after California, the US state

72. Carson

  • Origin: Scottish
  • Meaning: after Carson City in Nevada, US

73. Chelsea

  • Origin: British
  • Meaning: after the London borough

74. Derry

  • Origin: English
  • Meaning: after Londonderry/Derry City in northern Ireland

75. Kensington

  • Origin: English
  • Meaning: after the London borough

76. London

  • Origin: Latin
  • Meaning: after the capital of England

77. Paris

  • Origin: Greek
  • Meaning: after the capital of France

78. Phoenix

  • Origin: Greek/Latin
  • Meaning: after the city in Arizona, US

79. Raleigh

  • Origin: British
  • Meaning: after the city in North Carolina, US

80. Salem

  • Origin: Hebrew/Arabic
  • Meaning: after the city in Massachusetts, US

81. Skye

  • Origin: Scottish
  • Meaning: after Scottish island

82. Sydney

  • Origin: French
  • Meaning: after the city in Australia

83. Windsor

  • Origin: English
  • Meaning: after the town in England
three babies playing with an inflatable globe

Baby boy names inspired by countries

We love these boy names that each conjure up a whole country – in all its colour, culture and vibrancy:

84. Chad

  • Origin: British Celtic
  • Meaning: after the African country

85. Comoros

  • Origin: Greek
  • Meaning: after the archipelago off the coast of east Africa

86. Cyprus

  • Origin: Greek
  • Meaning: after the country in the Middle East

87. Faroe

  • Origin: Old Norse
  • Meaning: after the Faroe Islands

88. Holland

  • Origin: Dutch
  • Meaning: after the European country, also known as The Netherlands

89. Ireland

  • Origin: Irish
  • Meaning: after the Republic of Ireland

90. Nauru

  • Origin: Dutch
  • Meaning: after the island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean

91. Zealand

  • Origin: Dutch
  • Meaning: after New Zealand

Baby girl names inspired by countries

Some countries – and a couple of continents – make beautiful names for a baby girl, bursting with grandeur and uniqueness:

92. Africa

  • Origin: Greek
  • Meaning: after the continent

93. Aruba

  • Origin: Arabic
  • Meaning: after the island in the Caribbean

94. Asia

  • Origin: Greek
  • Meaning: after the continent

95. Dominica

  • Origin: Latin
  • Meaning: after the island in the Caribbean

96. Egypt

  • Origin: Arabic
  • Meaning: after the country in north-east Africa and the Sinai peninsula

97. Ghana

  • Origin: Ghanaian
  • Meaning: after the African country

98. India

  • Origin: Greek
  • Meaning: after the Asian country

99. Italia

  • Origin: Latin
  • Meaning: after the European country

100. Kenya

  • Origin: Swahili
  • Meaning: after the African country

101. Libya

  • Origin: Greek
  • Meaning: after the African country

102. Mali

  • Origin: Arabic
  • Meaning: after the African country

103. Trinidad

  • Origin: Spanish
  • Meaning: after the Caribbean island

Gender-neutral names inspired by countries

There aren't so many country-themed unisex baby names but they're all awesome!

104. Cuba

  • Origin: Taina
  • Meaning: after the Republic of Cuba

105. Jordan

  • Origin: Hebrew
  • Meaning: after the Middle Eastern country

106. Peru

  • Origin: Quechua
  • Meaning: after the South American country

107. Salvador

  • Origin: Latin
  • Meaning: after El Salvador in South America

108. Surinam

  • Origin: Spanish
  • Meaning: after the South American country

Baby names inspired by special places

We couldn't complete this list without adding some great boy and girl (or either) baby names that take their inspiration from places around the world that aren't cities, towns or countries but still evoke a real sense of place – and sound brilliantly special:

109. Avalon (boy)

  • Origin: Welsh
  • Meaning: after a mythical island in Arthurian legend

110. Caspian (boy)

  • Origin: English
  • Meaning: after the large sea between Asia and Europe

111. Denali (girl or boy)

  • Origin: Native American
  • Meaning: after the mountain in Alaska

112. Eden (girl or boy)

  • Origin: Hebrew
  • Meaning: after the garden of Eden in the Bible

113. Everest (boy)

  • Origin: British
  • Meaning: after Mount Everest

114. Kassandra (boy)

  • Origin: Greek
  • Meaning: after the peninsula in Greece

115. Sahara (girl)

  • Origin: Arabic
  • Meaning: after the desert in north Africa

Pics: Getty Images

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Authors

Helen Brown
Helen BrownHead of Content Delivery

Helen is author of the classic advice book Parenting for Dummies and a mum of 3. Before joining MadeForMums, she was Head of Community at Mumsnet and also the Consumer Editor of Mother & Baby.

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