A person, place, or thing can become a serious question. As A baby born today is as more likely to be named Brooklyn or Jordan as to a Stacy or James. To be named after a place can be unique, or they can seem like a fad or simply just silly. So how does a parent simply choose whether or not to use the name of a place for their child, and where did this trend come from?
Well actually the use of place names is ancient. Where Leonardo DaVinci is a great example. The man’s given name was Leonardo, and DaVinci was a descriptive term to say that his father was born in the city of Vinci in Italy. Although DaVinci wasn’t a formal, given name, it does show that the idea of place names as personal names is not new.
The more recent trend in naming kids after places seems to have been sparked, as most naming trends are, by soap operas and celebrities. Dakota and Montana were big back in the mid nineties, but others have climbed up to take their spot.
But to tell the truth I would advise against place names. Then again there are a few exceptions to this rule by some names that have been accepted for several generations, or place names that started off as personal names. However, for the most part, place names tend to tie a child to a certain location, and if that location is Camden, New Jersey, you may want to think about it, cause that is not a nice place.
A huge no no with using places as names for children is respellings. If the name is a familiar place name, it will be pronounced the same way, regardless of spelling. But A new spelling can be confusing at best.
Following are place names categorized by my own personal standards.
Traditional Place Names
These names are place names that have been in use as personal names for years. They share the common trait of sounding familiar as given names.
- Beverly
- Chelsea
- Darcy Technically, this is D’Arcy, as in 'of Arcy'.
- Devon
- Erin
- Florence
- Georgia
- Israel Technically a personal name, although, of course, the place is better known.
- Jordan
- Kent
- Kimberly
- Lorraine
- Sydney
- Troy
- Virginia
Popular Place Names
I am not crazy about most of these names (although a few do appeal to me) but they have gotten enough use to be somewhat mainstream. I still suggest caution.
- America
- Arden
- Arizona
- Asia
- Aspen
- Brittany
- Brooklyn
- Camden
- Caspian
- Cheyenne
- China
- Dakota
- Dallas
- Dane
- Denver
- Eden
- Geneva/Geneve
- Houston
- India
- Italia
- Jamaica
- London
- Madison
- Milan
- Montana
- Nevada
- Paris
- Phoenix
- Roma
- Sahara
- Savannah
- Shiloh
- Siena
- Valencia
- Venetia
- Verona
- Vienna
Please Don’t Use These
Every name here is one I’ve at least seen suggested or considered or even used on baby name websites. I strongly, strongly advise against them.
- American
- Antarctica
- California
- Florida
- Havana
- Hawaii
- Irak
- Irania
- Kansas
- Kashmir
- Korea
- Labrador
- Madrid
- Malaysia
- Jersey
- Ohio
- Saruc
- Tuscany
- Utica
- Vegas
- Whyoming
Here are four hints for how to avoid the most common mistakes that parents make in finding a name for their new baby. Use these considerations to help you find the perfect name.
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