115 baby names inspired by cities, towns, countries and special places
Looking for a name that's geographically special for your baby girl or boy? From busy capitals to remote towns, from US states to mythical islands, we've got a great list of 115 ideas from all over the globe
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.
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:
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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 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
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
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Authors
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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