Americans have named their children after places for as long as there has been an America — Georgia (named for King George II), Virginia (named for Queen Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen), Montgomery, and Savannah all come from colonial geography. But the category has expanded dramatically since the 1990s: Brooklyn, Phoenix, Austin, Dallas, and London have all entered the mainstream top 200.
Here's the full picture of place-inspired names in 2024 US data.
Girls: Place Names on the Charts
Savannah — #107 (2,490 babies). Named for the Georgia city, which was named for the Savannah River (from a Shawnee word meaning "southerners"). Savannah entered the top 100 in the late 1990s and has been holding just inside the top 110 for over a decade. It has the warm Southern quality that made Georgia, Carolina, and Charleston appealing.
Brooklyn — #108 (2,487 babies). The New York borough, originally Breukelen (a Dutch town). Brooklyn has been top 30 at its peak (2012–2016, during the Brooklyn cultural renaissance and Beyoncé and Jay-Z naming their daughter Blue Ivy, not Brooklyn, but the cultural moment was real). It's now at #108 and declining from that peak. David and Victoria Beckham named their son Brooklyn in 1999; the name has been used for both boys and girls, but the girls' count is much higher.
Georgia — #110 (2,458 babies). The U.S. state (and the country on the Black Sea). Georgia is one of the most established place names in American naming — it's been used as a first name since the 18th century. Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind" is perhaps the most famous cultural reference. It's now top 110 and climbing.
Juniper — #111 (2,441 babies). The juniper tree and shrub — a nature name that also has geographic associations (the Juniper ranges, Juniper Hills). Juniper has been climbing rapidly since 2010. It's the nature/place hybrid name that fits both the natural naming trend and the surname-style naming trend.
Sienna — #139 (2,113 babies). The Italian city of Siena (the double-n spelling is an English variant). Sienna has an artistic quality — Siena is famous for its earth-pigment color, Sienna red/orange. Sienna Miller has made the name visible internationally.
Adelaide — #271 (1,158 babies). The Australian city, named after Queen Adelaide, wife of King William IV. Adelaide is more commonly thought of as a German/French name (Adalheidis, noble + kind) than as a geographic name, but the Australian city makes it geographic too. Currently climbing through the vintage revival.
Aspen — #265 (1,198 girls). The Colorado resort city and the aspen tree. Aspen straddles the nature name and geographic name categories. It's been climbing since around 2010 and is now top 270 for girls and #962 for boys.
Vienna — #531 (574 babies). The Austrian capital. Vienna is the European capital name that has crossed over — alongside Milan, Paris, and Florence. It's still niche but climbing.
Paris — #484 (633 girls). The French capital; also the Trojan prince. Paris Hilton (born 1981) spent much of the 2000s making the name famous; in 2024 it's #484 for girls, declining slightly. The city association and the celebrity association are now equally present.
Florence — #435 (711 babies). The Italian city (Florentia); Florence Nightingale; Florence Welch (Florence and the Machine). Florence is one of the most established city-as-name uses in English — it was common in the Victorian era and is now reviving. The vintage revival wave is bringing it back: it's been climbing since 2010.
Milan — #700 (401 girls). The Italian fashion capital. Milan is used for both girls and boys in US data — #700 for girls, #231 for boys. Shakira and Gerard Piqué naming their son Milan in 2013 didn't hurt. It has an aspirational, cosmopolitan quality.
Phoenix — #421 (734 girls). The Arizona city; the mythical bird reborn from fire. Phoenix works as both a place name and a mythological name. It's top 420 for girls and top 280 for boys.
London — #355 (872 girls). The British capital. London has been climbing as a girls' name since around 2005. It's more commonly feminine in US data.
Dakota — #272 (1,155 girls; also #328 for boys with 1,053). A genuinely unisex geographic name — both North and South Dakota, and the Dakota (Sioux) people. Dakota was top 100 for girls in the mid-2000s and is now mid-chart.
Siena — #631 (467 babies). The Italian spelling of Sienna (above). Both spellings are in use.
Bristol — #635 (463 girls). The English port city. Bristol Palin (Sarah Palin's daughter) made the name visible in 2008; it's held mid-chart since.
Jordan — the River Jordan; the country. Jordan is thoroughly unisex and has been for decades, tracking steadily across both charts. The basketball association (Michael Jordan) drove a peak for boys; the girls' name has been declining from a late-1990s peak.
Boys: Place Names on the Charts
Lincoln — #73 (4,567 babies). The U.S. city in Nebraska; the President; the English city. Lincoln has been one of the fastest-rising boys' names since around 2008. The presidential connection is deliberate for many parents — Lincoln is the most presidential-sounding of the surname-as-name choices. It's also a place (Lincoln Center, Lincoln Park), a car brand, and an English city.
Austin — #107 (3,290 boys). The Texas state capital, named for Stephen F. Austin. Austin has been top 50 as recently as 2014 and is declining from that peak. It still holds at #107. It has the Western swagger of other Texan geographic names.
Atlas — #101 (3,417 boys). The Greek Titan who holds up the sky; also used geographically (the Atlas Mountains in North Africa; the atlas maps). Atlas has been one of the fastest-rising boys' names since around 2014. It's now top 100 for boys — a name with mythological and geographic resonance.
Kingston — #178 (2,081 boys). The city in Jamaica (capital) and Ontario; Kingston upon Thames in England. Kingston entered American naming primarily through Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale naming their son Kingston in 2006. It's been solidly mid-chart since.
Dallas — #243 (1,448 boys). The Texas city (and the 1980s TV show). Dallas was top 100 for boys in the mid-1990s and has been slowly declining since. It's now #243 and holding.
Milan — #231 (1,552 boys). As mentioned above — the Italian city. Milan is genuinely unisex in US data.
Phoenix — #275 (1,227 boys). As above — the Arizona city and mythological bird.
Cairo — #355 (944 boys). The Egyptian capital. Cairo is the geographic name that sounds boldest and most distinctive. It's been climbing since around 2010 and is now approaching #300 for boys.
Denver — #486 (633 boys). The Colorado capital. Denver has been mid-chart for boys since the 1990s (Dynasty's Denver Carrington). Still mid-chart.
Rio — #516 (591 boys). The Brazilian city (Rio de Janeiro); the animated film (2011). Rio is a short, cross-cultural geographic name that works easily in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Camden — #193 (1,857 boys). The London neighborhood; Camden, New Jersey. Camden has been climbing since around 2010 as a place-name surname style choice.
Declan — #131 (2,758 boys). Originally Irish (St. Declan of Ardmore), it has geographic associations through the Irish place tradition. More origin name than geographic name, but worth noting.
The geography of geographic naming
Southern and Western US cities dominate. Savannah, Georgia, Dallas, Austin, Phoenix, Denver — the geographic names that have succeeded are mostly Southern and Western. New York city names (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Harlem) have been more mixed; Boston barely registers.
European capitals are on the rise. Vienna, Milan, Paris, Florence, London, Sienna — a cluster of European city names has been climbing since around 2010. They work because they combine the geographic name trend with the vintage and literary associations of those cities.
Short names win. Atlas (#101), Rio (#516), Milan (#231), Aspen (#265) — the short geographic names perform better than the multi-syllable ones. The exception is Savannah, which has held despite four syllables; its Southern warmth compensates for its length.
Some places don't translate. Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh — major US cities that haven't made the transition to first names. Geographic name success seems to depend on phonetics, cultural cachet, or historical distance from present-day urban associations.
Explore related content: nature names · Scottish names · English names
Data: SSA 2024 US release. Geographic associations from standard sources.