Some city names are beautiful and many are names in their own right, but there are some I would shy away from for political reasons. I met a little girl called [name]Ireland[/name] recently, and when I got to talking to her parents it transpired that, though they claimed to be Irish, they had never so much as been to [name]Ireland[/name], and worse, were completely unaware of how offensive can be to call the Irish “English” (which they did several times within the conversation). So if it’s a name that is way more strongly associated with the place than with people, I would make sure you know about the history, especially anything controversial, and make sure it’s still a name you want your child to bear. If you are obviously not very worldly and name your child after an exotic city, it could come across as trying too hard (not a fair judgement, probably, but a common one).
[name]Vienna[/name] - Very pretty but strikes me as potentially trying too hard, depending on your circumstances
[name]Florence[/name] - A name in it’s own right for some time, and totally usable (and lovely)
[name]Austria[/name] - Not my favourite. Too many people mistake [name]Austria[/name] as a short form of Australia (depressingly) and it has a somewhat negative presence in history that isn’t conveyed as much in
[name]Holland[/name] - I just don’t like the sound of it. It sounds a bit…trendy, for some reason.
[name]Venice[/name] - [name]Venezia[/name] (the Italian) might be more wearable. Keep in mind that [name]Venice[/name], though one of the most fascinating cities in the world, is also smelly and largely rotting. It is absolutely beautiful in its own way, but because it’s not quite what people think, it might appear that you’ve never been and just think it sounds exotic, which people can be very judgemental about.
[name]Odessa[/name] - I love the sound of this (I much prefer it to [name]Odetta[/name] or [name]Odelia[/name]) but I don’t know that much about the history, definitely worth checking out.
[name]Paris[/name] - I wish this were still useable on boys.
[name]Argentina[/name] - Pretty, but the dodgy history thing might come up again.
[name]Cuba[/name] - Definitely political, if you live in the USA especially.
[name]Jordan[/name] - Common enough as a name that people won’t immediately think of the city
[name]Sydney[/name] - Ditto
Niue - I had to google this one. It looks a bit celtic to me (I think I’m thinking of Nimue) and I think it could be wearable, if exotic. It seems to be an uneventful place, though again, I’d make pretty sure.
[name]Cheyenne[/name] - This sounds a bit outdated and trailer trashy to me, though I have to say, I loved it when I was eight. It’s got a pretty sound.
[name]Geneva[/name] - Very pretty, with close enough ties to more familiar names to be usable, and the only thing that springs to mind is the [name]Geneva[/name] conventions, which, while a sad necessity, are at least more concerned with ending human suffering than causing it!
[name]London[/name] - I love [name]London[/name] the place – it’s heaven and hell and everything in between. It’s fascinating, but as with [name]Venice[/name], people might assume you haven’t really been there to see the bad side if you gave the name to a child. I also think it sounds more like a boy’s name, if anything, but I seem to be in the minority on that.
[name]Sofia[/name] - A name it’s own right – beautiful, but overpopular.
[name]Olympia[/name] - Wearable, I think, and much more known for mythological connotations and the Olympic games than anything negative.
