Alabama is a hot southern place-name, picking up from Georgia and Savannah. This is not a geographical name come lately, though--there have been girls named Alabama dating back well over a century.
 Hip couple Drea de Matteo and Shooter Jennings named their daughter Alabama Gypsy Rose, and rocker Travis Barker has an Alabama Louella.

Alabama

State name Alaska stems from an Aleutian word for the land mass itself. The number of baby girls named Alaska has doubled in the past five years, and is sure to continue increasing as more place names are annexed as <a href="https://nameberry.com">baby names</a>. Wilder but as habitable as Dakota or Cheyenne, Alaska is a <a href="https://nameberry.com/girl-names">girls' name</a> choice for the future.

Alaska

A spiritually significant name used in honor of the Virgin Mary. In Spanish, her title is Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles, meaning "Our Lady the Queen of the Angels."

Angeles

If you're looking for a really untouristed place name, Aquitaine could be it.  Aquitaine is a region of France that includes both Bordeaux and Biarritz and is famous for such food and drink as its pates and cassoulets, Armagnac brandy and Bordeaux wines.

Aquitaine

A phonetically attractive place-name that can be used for babies but rarely is.

Arabia

We usually think of place-names as a modern invention, but in fact Arizona ranked on the US Top 1000 from its inception in 1880 until 1911, when it vanished below the surface. It peaked at Number 510 in 1882, before Arizona became a state. One notorious vintage bearer: criminal "Ma" Barker, born Arizona Clark.
This unusual and evocative southwestern place name was picked for his daughter by former Everclear frontman Art Alexakis. It popped up as a first name on the quirky Dr. Arizona Robbins, introduced on Grey's Anatomy in 2009, played by Jessica Capshaw.

Arizona

The capital of Georgia is far from the ocean, but got its name from the Western and Atlantic Railroad which ran through the city. Best known as a hub of industry and transport, and for its roles in the Civil War and Civil Rights Movement, it has never been popular as a baby name despite sounding like one. Its peak popularity was in 1995, the year before Atlanta hosted the Olympic Games.
As parents embrace more diverse place names for babies, beyond the obvious Georgia and Savannah, we may start to see more of Atlanta on the baby name map. Or add an extra letter to make it Atalanta, a bona fide (but even rarer) mythological name.

Atlanta

Austria is an nteresting, appealing, unexplored geographic destination, much fresher than American cousin Austin.
 A related and attractive possibility is Austria's capital city, Vienna, the name of the character played by Joan Crawford in "Johnny Guitar," and also heard on the soap "As the World Turns."

Austria

Avalon, an island paradise of Celtic myth and Arthurian legend--it was where King Arthur was taken to recover from his wounds-- and also the colorful capital of the California island of Catalina-- makes a heavenly first name. Actress Rena Sofer and British musician Julian Cope used it for their daughters.
 Avalon manages to blend the appeal of Ava and Evelyn, while sounding more interesting and unique.

Avalon

Attractive but somewhat unwieldy place-name name. 

Barcelona

Edgy German capital with definite possibilities as a baby name.

Berlin

The remarkable success of the girls' name Everly makes a revival of the name Beverly seem possible. More commonly a masculine name in the 19th century, it began to be used for girls in the early 1900s, reaching #14 ion the <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular-names">popular names list</a> in 1937. Inspirations: Beverly Johnson was the first African-American model to appear on the cover of Vogue, Beverly Sills was a major American soprano, Beverly Cleary authored the beloved 'Ramona' books, and Beverly Goldberg is the beloved TV matriarch of 'The Goldbergs'.

Beverly

Brazil

Out-of-the-way place name (it's an antiquated holiday spot on England's south coast) that might make a brilliant choice. Actor/director Jon Favreau named his daughter Brighton Rose.

Brighton

Bristol Palin, the daughter of former Alaska governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, grabbed her own share of headlines by having a baby out of wedlock and then appearing on Dancing With The Stars. She single-handedly propelled her distinctive name, inspired by a city in England, into the Top 1000 and up the charts. Bristol's ascent ended a few years back.

Bristol

Brixton, the name of a neighborhood in London, is one of the fastest-rising place-names for baby boys, up more than 100 points on the most recent US popularity list. Besides its association with the place, Brixton combines several major trends in boys' namesL It's got two syllables, ends with the letter n, and has an x in the middle

Brixton

Extreme makeover: Brooklyn has gone from jokey Borough Boy name in the 1990s to a leading <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/girls-names/b">girls' name starting with B</a>. The status of New York's Brooklyn as hipster heaven is ironic as few bona fide Brooklyn hipsters would choose this name.
 Brooklyn first came into widespread public view via the first Beckham boy born in 1999, though it had already entered the lower ranks of the girls' list in 1990, rising to the double digits in 2005, as more and more parents began to see it less as a NYC place name by separating it into its highly name-y syllables – brook and lyn.

Theoretically unisex, Brooklyn is now 98 percent female, while variations Brooklynn and Brooklynne are all girl.

Brooklyn

Canada is an undiscovered but attractive place-name possibility, up till now a masculine territory. 

Canada

Languid, romantic, and classy, this variation heats up Caroline and modernizes Carol, adding a southern accent.
 Pronounced Caro-LINE-a in English-speaking countries, it is heard as Caro-LEEN-a in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. Nicknames can include Caro and Lina, as well as Carrie.
 A prominent bearer is Venezuelan fashion designer Carolina Herrera (born Maria Carolina), who has designed clothes for First Ladies from Jacqueline Kennedy to Michele Obama. A hauntingly melodic theme song in James Taylor's 'Carolina on My Mind.'

Carolina

Charlotte, the name of the young Princess of Cambridge, is the latest classic name to join Sophia, Emma, Olivia, and Isabella at the top of the popularity list. It is now among the most popular girl names in many English-speaking and European countries.
 
The feminine form of Charles, Charlotte derived from Charlot, a French diminutive of Charles meaning "little Charles" and the name of Charlemagne’s son in French literature and legend. The name was popularized by England's Queen Charlotte Sophia, wife of King George III.
 
Queen Charlotte was the mother of fifteen children and a patron of Mozart and Bach. She and George ruled England in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century during the French and American revolutions.
 
Charlotte is an elegant royal name, with a host of widely varied role models, from Charlotte Brontë to the spidery protagonist of E. B. White's Charlotte's Web to the more recent Charlotte York, aka the prissy one, of Sex and the City. Charlotte is appealing to a wide range of parents because it sounds feminine yet grownup, sophisticated yet lush. 
 
Charlotte is a pop culture staple—it was Scarlett Johansson's character in Lost in Translation and has been featured on TV shows like Lost and Revenge. The band Good Charlotte was named for a children's book with that title. An all-around winner of a name, Charlotte has been chosen by Chelsea Clinton, Dylan McDermott, Colin Hanks, and Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr.
 In addition to Charlie, Lottie makes a cute nickname.

Charlotte

Chelsea is still being used, but it was much more popular a few decades ago--it peaked at Number 15 in 1992. Chelsea first entered the American consciousness in a major way via the character Jane Fonda played in On Golden Pond in 1981 and later of course was frequently in the headlines when Chelsea Clinton (whose name was inspired by the lyric of a the Joni-Mitchell-Judy Collins song "Chelsea Morning") became First Daughter.

Chelsea

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.
 
Though one of the distinctly <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/519/american-baby-names">American names</a>, Chicago has almost never been used as a first name before. The Social Security Administration reported six baby girls and five baby boys named Chicago in 2018, following the starbaby birth. In the years that have followed, Chicago has always been given to more boys than girls.

Chicago

Columbia is a rarely used name with many associations. From the eighteenth century it has been used as a female personification of the United States, often appearing as a flag-draped patriotic figure. And as such it's inspired a plethora of place and company names, from the District of Columbia to Columbia University to Columbia Records, and songs like "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean." A character called Columbia appears in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
 The peaceful Columba/Colomba--meaning "dove"-- is often heard in the Latino community

Columbia

Corsica, the picturesque Mediterrean island birthplace of Napoleon, makes an easy switch from atlas to baby name book, with its delicate, feminine ending. Just don't consider neighboring island Sardinia. 

Corsica

A Native American tribe name which is found in the names of two US states, Dakota was one of the first trendy nineties place names, but is now flagging a little in popularity. The cultural question around using a Native American tribe name as a baby name may be partly to blame.

 Young actress Dakota Fanning helped give it a feminine spin; Rosie O'Donnell chose it for her newborn daughter. Interestingly, Dakota is one of those rare truly<a href="https://nameberry.com/unisex-names">unisex baby names</a> used for almost exactly equal numbers of girls and boys.

Dakota

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.
 Eden entered the Top 1000 in 1989, and got a real bump in visibility when Desperate Housewives' Marcia Cross used it for one of her twin girls. There have been also Edens on the old soap opera Santa Barbara and the shows Heroes and Extras.
 Pronounced ED-en, Eden is also a Hebrew name for boys, though as EE-den it's gaining ground in the US for boys, now given to one boy for every four girls.

Eden

Ever since Little Egypt practically invented the belly dance in the 1890s, this name has had a suggestive aura. Astonishingly, Egypt is now among the Top 1000 names for girls in the US. Cairo is a related option.

Egypt

The site of Napoleon's exile became the great-great-aunt in the purple hat. 

Elba

Most parents would prefer London for their daughters. 

England

For most, Eureka will be tied up with the bathtub myth of Archimedes' discovery of volumetric displacement, making it linked to the idea of invention, discovery and innovation. Some Australians might more closely link it to the Eureka stockade, a 19th Century rebellion of miners and workers against the colonial British government. Amanda Knox named her baby girl Eureka in 2021.

Eureka

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. 
 
The name has a lot going for it, both for its floral feel and as a place name connection to the lovely Italian city (after which Florence Nightingale was named—it was her birthplace). The association to the city seems to be helping Florence stir back to life, along with cousin Flora.
 The band Florence + the Machine, headlined by red-haired Florence Welch, has also helped to rejuvenate its image.
 Florence was most popular in the US at the turn of the last century and in the early decades of the twentieth—it was in the Top 10 from 1886 to 1906. 
 Florence has a diverse mixture of namesakes and references—a character in Dickens's Dombey & Sons, a US First Lady (Harding), one of the Supremes, the Brady Bunch's Henderson, track and field star Florence Griffith Joyner, and several TV characters.
 Florence has some particularly lively nicknames—Flo, Flossie, and Florrie.

Florence

Lacks the cachet of some newer place-names. 

Florida

Galilee is a highly unusual place name, Galilee being a large region in northern Israel, the home of Jesus during at least thirty years of his life, and also where he cured a blind man. The Sea of Galilee gets its name from the area.
 Its pretty, delicate sound make Galilee a real possibility for use as a girl's name--in fact one of our Berries chose Galilee as the middle name of her baby daughter.

Galilee

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. 
 Geneva was a relatively popular American name at one time: it reached as high as Number 107 in 1919, and remained in the Top 200 until 1942. Geneva was the middle name of First Lady Mamie Eisenhower, and is the name of a leading character on The Good Wife.

Geneva

One of the newer geographical site names, it has the advantage of sounding like a real girl's name because of its jen beginning and feminine a ending. 

Genoa

Georgia is so rich, lush and luscious, it's almost irresistible. Georgia's now a rising star among the feminizations of George, helped by associations with the southern state (named for British King George II) and painter Georgia O'Keeffe, with the Ray Charles song "Georgia On My Mind" or maybe "Sweet Georgia Brown" playing in the background. 

 Georgia is in fact a double place name, also belonging to an ex-Soviet state famous for the ancient monastery Vardzia and its rich culinary and wine-growing culture.

 Georgia has been chosen for their daughters by Harry Connick, Jr., Hope Davis, Amy Ryan, Zac Brown, Rebecca Gayheart and Eric Dane, and Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy.

Georgia

With Brooklyn, Trenton, and Camden on the rise, Harlem can't be far behind -- it's already been picked by one celebrity, and it certainly has a strong historical and cultural identity.

Harlem

Indiana is one of those place-names (think Camden and Trenton) that sounds cooler than the place that inspired it. Its fashionable -ana ending certainly sounds eminently name-like, and Indie/Indy/Indi is one of the hottest <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/220/nicknames-for-girls">nickname names for girls</a> right now.

Indiana

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 curve (or trendsetting)—Ireland has been among the fastest-rising names of recent years. Other Irish place names include Shannon, Kerry, Galway, and Dublin.

Ireland

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 Verona, but Italy itself has only been given as a name since the 1990s. This current moment feels like it could be Italy's time to shine. It conjures up images of the beautiful country, and would be an inventive way to connect a daughter to her Italian heritage.
 
Italia is less common but equally evocative.

Italy

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, Jamaica is an eminently usable place name. Namesake writer Jamaica Kincaid was born not in Jamaica but on another Caribbean island, Antigua, and her birth name was the more prosaic Elaine Cynthia.
 Jamaica's capital city, Kingston, has become a popular name for boys, thanks to its use by Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale.

Jamaica

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. 

 The country of Kenya gets its name from Mount Kenya, referred to it as "Kirinyaga" or "Kerenyaga" by the local Kikuyu people, meaning "mountain of whiteness" due to its snow-capped peak.

Kenya

The capital of the United Kingdom makes a solid and attractive twenty-first-century choice, with a lot more substance than Paris. It's in the unisex column, with both girls and boys given the name in recent years.
 There was a rich girl character named London Tipton — inspired by Paris Hilton — on the Disney TV series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody beginning in 2005. Paris named her daughter London in 2023, continuing the city name theme and nodding to her Disney Channel facsimile.

London

This name of the French town where a young peasant girl had a vision of the Virgin Mary in 1858 vaulted into the spotlight when Madonna chose it for her daughter, but few other families except for devout Roman Catholics have followed her lead (any more than they've used Rocco for their sons). 

Lourdes

Strong and spare state name, maybe better in the middle -- or for a boy. 

Maine

Pronounced my-ORK-a, the name of this lovely Balearic Island, located in the Mediterranean, is one of the prettiest and most feminine of place names.  The Spanish spelling is MALLORCA.

Majorca

An archipelago near the center of the Mediterranean, the name derives from the Greek word for honey.  Malta has been heard as a girl’s name in the past and was used as a character name by both Dickens and Murakami.

Malta

Miami -- or Florida, for that matter -- hasn't achieved the place-name stardom of southern sisters like Savannah and Georgia. Quincy Jones used it as his daughter KENYA's middle name.

Miami

In many Slavic and other European countries, Milan is purely a <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys’ name</a>, but in the US, it's also popular for girls – no doubt inspired by the fashionable Italian city. It entered the Top 1000 for boys in 2013, while for girls it has been in the Top 1000 since 2009. 

 The more exclusively feminine Mila and Milana are becoming more popular for girls and singer Shakira has chosen Milan for her son. In America, Milan looks set to remain one of the most stylish unisex names of the moment.

Milan

Kenya is fairly commonly heard as a girl's name, but its capital city makes a much more exceptional choice. 

Nairobi

Named for its snowcapped mountains, Nevada is a state name which, unlike Carolina, Montana, and Dakota, has been relatively undiscovered. Warning: today's unvisited place-name could become tomorrow's trampled tourist attraction. 

Nevada

With its relation to Mount Olympus, home of the Greek gods, and to the Olympic games, this name has an athletic, goddess-like aura, making it the perfect Olivia substitute.
 A well-known art reference is the famous 1865 painting of a reclining nude by Edouard Manet titled Olympia. Contemporary bearers include former Maine Republican Senator Olympia Snowe and actress Olympia Dukakis.

Olympia

Paris, a one-time mythical and Shakespearean boys' name, peaked in 2004 at Number 157 at least in part due to the highly publicized Paris Hilton. Michael Jackson used it for his daughter.

Paris

Phoenix is a New Age name symbolizing rebirth and immortality. It's also a place name, a color name, a mythological name, AND an animal name, combining several of today's hottest trends in one appealing package.

Phoenix is also a fairly evenly-balance gender neutral baby names, given last year to about 1000 baby girls and 1300 baby boys. Scary Spice chose Phoenix for her daughter, and Paris Hilton used it for her son.

Phoenix

Rio is one of Japan's most popular girls names, constantly sitting in that country's Top 10. Of course, Rio may also stem from the Portuguese and Spanish word for river, and the Brazilian city Rio de Janeiro. A truly international name for a cosmopolitan baby!

Russia

Evocative of the beautiful South Pacific islands; we've also heard Samoan used as a name. 

Samoa

A place name with a deep Southern accent, the once-obscure Savannah shot to fame, with others of its genre, on the heels of the best seller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which was set in the mossy Georgia city of Savannah. Originally a substitute for the overused Samantha, Savannah is now becoming overused itself, long among the top <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/girls-names/s">girls' names starting with S</a>.
 Before that, there were Savannahs in the novel and movie The Prince of Tides, in the Terry McMillan hit novel and film Waiting to Exhale, played by Whitney Houston and, even earlier, in a 1982 movie called Savannah Smiles.
 Savannah has actually been on the popularity list since records started being kept in the 1880's; she's been in the Top 100 since 1993. Desperate Housewives' Marcia Cross chose Savannah for her twin daughter, and it's the name of Queen Elizabeth's first great-grandchild. And Savannah Guthrie can be seen every morning on the Today Show.

Savannah

Place names can be a nod to your cultural heritage or a commemoration of a favorite destination. Scotia comes from the Latin name for Scotland, which may be a perfect fit for a family of Scottish heritage if Scotland feels too on-the-nose. Caledonia is another possibility, used by the Romans for the land north of Hadrian's Wall in England, which marked the upper boundary of the Roman Empire.
And Nova Scotia (meaning "new Scotland") is also the name of a Canadian province.

Scotia

This name of an area in northern Greece, known in the era of Homer's Odyssey as Aeolus. It's the name of a character in the graphic novel Sandman, and could easily be adopted for a modern little girl.

Thessaly

Tribeca was the term created for New York City's TRIangle BElow CAnal Street. Stangely enough--that aside--it almost does sound like a plausible <a href="https://nameberry.com/girl-names">girls' name</a>, nicknamed Becca.

Tribeca

This name of one of the most romantic cities in the world could easily find its way onto an American baby girl's birth certificate. 

Venice

Verona is a scenic place-name with the added attraction of a Shakespearean connection, as in Two Gentlemen of....

Verona

Vienna is one of the more popular of the European place-names, with a particularly pleasant sound, evoking elegant images of the Blue Danube, of castles and cafes, sweets and sausages and Strauss waltzes—and Sigmund Freud. It could be a possible substitute for the popular Sienna. 
 While many see place-names as a recent invention, Vienna has been used as a name for centuries. It was, for instance, the name of a 15th century mother of a saint. Joan Crawford plays a strong-willed saloon keeper in the classic 1954 western drama Johnny Guitar. And there was also a Vienna in the F. Scott Fitzgerald story "The Bowl."
 Trivia tidbit: Vienna's Roman-era name was Vindobono.

Vienna

Virginia is a lovely place name starting with the fashionable V and having deep historical roots, yet, unlike some other other girls' classics, has been sorely neglected in recent years. 
 The colony/state of Virginia was given its name by Sir Walter Raleigh in honor of Elizabeth I, known as the Virgin Queen, and the first child to be born of English parents in the New World was christened Virginia Dare.
 Virginia was in the Top 10 for 25 years, from 1912 to 1937, hitting a high of Number 6 in 1921, when there were 19,000 newborn Virginias in their cradles.
 She does have a couple of possible downsides—those teasable virgin associations, and the not-quite-ready-for-revival Ginny nickname. But we think they're outweighed by more positive factors, and Virginia is in line for a possible revival.
 Virginia has such distinguished namesakes as writer Virginia Woolf, has been the subject of songs by groups ranging from The Rolling Stones to the Foo Fighters, and has appeared as a character in a number of books, movies, and TV shows—currently co-starring on Masters of Sex. Ginger Rogers was born Virginia.

Virginia

Fiery~Red~Fox's list "Place Names for Girls!" of 65 great name ideas: Alabama - Virginia!

Place Names for Girls!

This list needs to exist because, let's face it, place names for girls are super awesome and fun! Please enjoy! Yay!