When choosing a name for their child, parents pull from multiple sources, including nature, family history, and even pop culture. Geography is another common source of naming inspiration. If you’re looking for a name with a strong sense of place, check out the most popular baby names that also happen to be U.S. cities below.
- What (or where)’s in a name?
For this analysis, the online language school Lingoda looked at the Social Security Administration’s top baby names of 2024. They then compared those names to the 300 most populous cities in the nation to determine which city names were most common among girls, boys, and both sexes combined. Here‘s what they found:
What (or where)’s in a name?
Charlotte has overwhelming representation in the U.S. Over 12,500 girls born in 2024 share their name with the North Carolina city. Generally considered a feminine name, Charlotte is a variation of the French masculine name Charles.
Illinois and Colorado are each home to their own Aurora, which happens to be second-most popular name that doubles as a city. Over 6900 children received the title in 2024. The name has associations with nature as well: It originates from the Latin word for dawn, and it also calls to mind the northern lights, or aurora borealis. If you want to name your child after a strong female character, Aurora is also the name of the Roman goddess of dawn and morning light, as well as the Disney princess from Sleeping Beauty (1959).
Rounding out the top three names is Jackson, the first male name to hit the overall ranking. The Old English moniker’s origins are self-evident: It means “son of Jack.” Additionally, it’s also the capital of Mississippi…