Names Categorized "towns"

Ainhoa f Basque
From the name of a town in southwestern France where there is a famous image of the Virgin Mary.

Ainoa f Spanish
Spanish form of Ainhoa.

Alexander m English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Hungarian, Slovak, Biblical, Ancient Greek (Latinized), Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of the Greek name Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant "defending men" from Greek ἀλέξω (alexo) meaning "to defend, help" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Greek mythology this was another name of the hero Paris, and it also belongs to several characters in the New Testament. However, the most famous bearer was Alexander the Great, king of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. Due to his fame, and later medieval tales involving him, use of his name spread throughout Europe.... [more]

Alton m English
From an English surname that was derived from a place name meaning "town at the source of the river" in Old English.

Ararat m Armenian
From the name of a mountain in eastern Turkey (formerly part of Armenia), the place where Noah's Ark came to rest according to the Old Testament.

Avelina 2 f Spanish
Feminine form of Avelino.

Avelino m Spanish, Portuguese
Used in honour of the 16th-century Italian saint Andrea Avellino (usually spelled Avelino in Spanish and Portuguese). His surname is derived from the name of the town of Avellino in Campania, itself from Latin Abellinum (of unknown meaning).

Avila f Germanic
Derived from the Old German element awi, of unknown meaning. Rarely, this name may be given in honour of the 16th-century mystic Saint Teresa of Ávila, Ávila being the name of the town in Spain where she was born.

Bentley m English
From a surname that was from a place name, itself derived from Old English beonet "bent grass" and leah "woodland, clearing". Various towns in England bear this name.

Bethel f English
From an Old Testament place name meaning "house of God" in Hebrew. This was a town north of Jerusalem, where Jacob saw his vision of the stairway. It is occasionally used as a given name.

Boone m English
From an English surname that was either derived from Old French bon meaning "good" or from the name of the town of Bohon, France.

Burton m English
From an English surname that was originally derived from a place name meaning "fortified town" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was Richard Burton (1821-1890), an explorer of Africa and Asia.

Calliope f Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Latinized form of Kalliope.

Carissa f English
Variant of Charissa.

Corinna f German, Italian, English, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Latinized form of the Greek name Κόριννα (Korinna), which was derived from κόρη (kore) meaning "maiden". This was the name of a Greek lyric poet of the 5th century BC. The Roman poet Ovid used it for the main female character in his book Amores. In the modern era it has been in use since the 17th century, when Robert Herrick used it in his poem Corinna's going a-Maying.

Devereux m English (Rare)
From an English surname, of Norman French origin, meaning "from Evreux". Evreux is a town in France.

Edina f Hungarian
Possibly a diminutive of names beginning with the Old German element adal meaning "noble".

Elea f English
Short form of Eleanor. This was also the name of an ancient Italian town (modern Velia) that is well known for being the home of the philosopher Parmenides and his student Zeno of Elea, who was famous for his paradoxes.

Ellington f & m English (Rare)
Derived from the English surname Ellington.

Erskine m English (Rare)
From a Scottish surname that was originally derived from the name of a town near Glasgow. The town's name possibly means "projecting height" in Gaelic. A famous bearer was the Irish novelist and nationalist Erskine Childers (1870-1922).

Gilbert m English, French, Dutch, Germanic
Means "bright pledge", derived from the Old German elements gisal "pledge, hostage" and beraht "bright". The Normans introduced this name to England, where it was common during the Middle Ages. It was borne by a 12th-century English saint, the founder of the religious order known as the Gilbertines.

Jupiter m Roman Mythology (Anglicized)
From Latin Iuppiter, which was ultimately derived from the vocative form of Indo-European *Dyēws-pətēr, composed of the elements Dyēws (see Zeus) and pətēr "father". Jupiter was the supreme god in Roman mythology. He presided over the heavens and light, and was responsible for the protection and laws of the Roman state. This is also the name of the fifth and largest planet in the solar system.

Kendall m & f English
From an English surname that comes from the name of the city of Kendale in northwestern England meaning "valley on the river Kent". Originally mostly masculine, the name received a boost in popularity for girls in 1993 when the devious character Kendall Hart began appearing on the American soap opera All My Children.

Latona f Roman Mythology
Latin form of Leto.

Loreto f & m Spanish, Italian
From the name of a town in Italy, originally called Lauretum in Latin, meaning "laurel grove". Supposedly in the 13th century the house of the Virgin Mary was miraculously carried by angels from Nazareth to the town. In Spain it is a feminine name, from the Marian title Nuestra Señora de Loreto, while in Italy it is mostly masculine.

Margaux f French
Variant of Margot influenced by the name of the wine-producing French town. It was borne by Margaux Hemingway (1954-1996), granddaughter of author Ernest Hemingway, who had it changed from Margot.

Mariel f Spanish (Latin American), Spanish (Philippines), English (American)
Diminutive of Maria. In the case of the American actress Mariel Hemingway (1961-), the name was inspired by the Cuban town of Mariel.

Marilag f Tagalog
Means "beautiful, gorgeous" in Tagalog.

Melville m English
From a Scots surname that was originally from a Norman French place name Malleville meaning "bad town". A famous bearer of the surname was the American author Herman Melville (1819-1891), who wrote several novels including Moby-Dick.

Meriel f English (Archaic)
Variant of Muriel.

Meritxell f Catalan
From the name of a village in Andorra where there is a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The name of the village may derive from Latin meridies meaning "midday".

Mostyn m Welsh
From the name of a town in northern Wales, which is probably derived from Old English elements meaning "moss town".

Muriel f English, French, Irish, Scottish, Medieval Breton (Anglicized)
Anglicized form of Irish Muirgel and Scottish Muireall. A form of this name was also used in Brittany, and it was first introduced to medieval England by Breton settlers in the wake of the Norman Conquest. In the modern era it was popularized by a character from Dinah Craik's novel John Halifax, Gentleman (1856).

Nyssa f Various (Rare)
From the name of an ancient town of Asia Minor where Saint Gregory was bishop in the 4th century. Nyssa is also the genus name of a type of tree, also called the Tupelo.

Paisley f English (Modern)
From a Scots surname, originally from the name of a town near Glasgow, maybe ultimately derived from Latin basilica "church". This is also a word (derived from the name of that same town) for a type of pattern commonly found on fabrics.

Quinton m English
Variant of Quentin, also coinciding with an English surname meaning "queen's town" in Old English.

Rie f Japanese
From Japanese 理 (ri) meaning "reason, logic" or 里 (ri) meaning "village" combined with 恵 (e) meaning "favour, benefit". Other kanji combinations can also form this name.

Rochelle f English
From the name of the French city La Rochelle, meaning "little rock". It first became commonly used as a given name in America in the 1930s, probably due to the fame of actress Rochelle Hudson (1914-1972) and because of the similarity to the name Rachel.

Ryan m English
From a common Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Ó Riain. This patronymic derives from the given name Rian, which is of uncertain meaning. It is traditionally said to mean "little king", from Irish rí "king" combined with a diminutive suffix.... [more]

Salem 2 f & m English (Modern)
From the name of a biblical town, שָׁלֵם (Shalem) in Hebrew, meaning "complete, safe, peaceful". According to the Old Testament this was the town where Melchizedek was king. It is usually identified with Jerusalem. Many places are named after the biblical town, most in America, notably a city in Massachusetts where the infamous Salem witch trials occurred in 1692.

Seong-Jin m Korean
From Sino-Korean 成 (seong) meaning "completed, finished, succeeded" or 星 (seong) meaning "star, planet" combined with 鎭 (jin) meaning "town, marketplace" or 震 (jin) meaning "shake, tremor, excite". Other hanja character combinations are also possible.

Seymour m English
From a Norman surname that originally belonged to a person coming from the French town of Saint Maur (which means "Saint Maurus").

Sung-Jin m Korean
Alternate transcription of Korean Hangul 성진 (see Seong-Jin).

Thisbe f Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology
From the name of an ancient Greek town in Boeotia, itself supposedly named after a nymph. In a Greek legend (the oldest surviving version appearing in Latin in Ovid's Metamorphoses) this is the name of a young woman from Babylon. Believing her to be dead, her lover Pyramus kills himself, after which she does the same to herself. The splashes of blood from their suicides is the reason mulberry fruit are red.

Tivoli m & f Various (Rare)
From the name of a picturesque Italian town, used as a summer resort by the ancient Romans.

Urbana f Spanish
Feminine form of Urban.

Uxue f Basque
From the Basque name of the Spanish town of Ujué where there is a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Its name is derived from Basque usoa "dove".

Vienna f English (Modern)
From the name of the capital city of Austria, Vienna.

Warren m English
From an English surname that was derived either from Norman French warrene meaning "animal enclosure", or else from the town of La Varenne in Normandy. This name was borne by the American president Warren G. Harding (1865-1923).