Cities, states, countries, etc. There are some I think can work, but others i can’t imagine on someone in a business setting or on a teen. What are the berries’ opinions on naming your child with a place name?
I’m personally not a fan of place names. I just think it’s a little weird to name a child after a place, especially if you’ve never been there. However, if it has significance to you (ex. the place where you met your partner, your hometown, where you went for your honeymoon) then that’s alright!
I do like place names that are very subtle place names. Cities/towns that not everyone will have heard of, like Adelaide. If you live/have been in Australia or are interested in geography you will probably know Adelaide as a place name, but otherwise you likely won’t.
There is no name for me that I can’t imagine in a “business setting” personally, and I can’t think of any place names that sound childish? My only issue with them is, as mentioned, it just feels a bit weird to do it without any connection to the place. And then, if you do have a connection to the place, and your kid visits that place then it’ll be weird for them having the name of that town/country/city? I’m just saying, a girl called London visiting London would probably get some laughs and jokes about her name.
I don’t like or dislike place names on principle, I think they can really work or they can be not my style at all. For me, it really depends on the sound, and as @tallemaja says, the personal connection for the family to the place.
I judge place names based on whether I like the sound and feel of them, as with any other name. I love [name_f]Valencia[/name_f] and [name_f]Vienna[/name_f], because I enjoy saying them and I can imagine them on a person. I don’t like [name_u]London[/name_u] and [name_u]Holland[/name_u] because they’re not my style. Ideally there’d be some connection to the place, but I don’t think it’s a necessity, especially with more subtle choices.
I always feel it’s a bit weird when people use place names of cities that would never be used in their original language unless there’s a long history of usage/the place name is actually a name.
Things like [name_u]Berlin[/name_u] or [name_m]Dresden[/name_m] come to mind here, it’s just odd when people use them, even if they have a connection to the place, because place names just aren’t a thing in [name_m]German[/name_m].
some of them are ok - ones you wouldn’t necessarily associate with the place (think [name_u]Jordan[/name_u], [name_u]Sydney[/name_u] etc). i’m not a fan of the really obvious ones like [name_u]London[/name_u] or [name_f]Asia[/name_f] though, not because they sound childish but because they’re associated too closely with the place.
I really like [name_u]Sydney[/name_u] for a girl. And [name_u]Austin[/name_u] is completely mainstream for a boy as well, no one would find it odd even in [name_u]Texas[/name_u]. Same for [name_f]Savannah[/name_f]. Some names I find funny if they are places that I don’t consider worth visiting, 
ok thats just mean I know… [name_m]Ive[/name_m] seen [name_f]Topeka[/name_f] on here before which I find pretty funny. [name_u]Boston[/name_u] also seems silly solely because its so rare as a name. But [name_u]London[/name_u] seems fine or [name_f]Vienna[/name_f]. I think a lot of place names are based on peoples names or have similar etymological roots so its more about familiarity for me than anything else.
[name_u]Madison[/name_u] is a very common place name and person name!
I generally like and appreciate place names, but for me personally I will only use place names that are meaningful to me. Unfortunately that rules out many great names!
In theory and on paper there great. In reality, a lot of word names I love on paper I can’t imagine calling my child or saying it out loud. I do like place names as middles though. And I love place names that are also names like [name_f]Vienna[/name_f], Nikaia, Catania, [name_u]Florence[/name_u], [name_f]Cecily[/name_f] (like Sicily), or [name_f]Frances[/name_f]. [name_m]Oslo[/name_m] would be the exception.
I like place names personally - some like [name_u]Montana[/name_u], [name_u]Indiana[/name_u], [name_u]Brooklyn[/name_u], [name_u]London[/name_u], [name_u]Paris[/name_u], [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u], [name_u]Memphis[/name_u], Australia, [name_f]India[/name_f], [name_u]Milan[/name_u], [name_f]Vienna[/name_f], [name_u]Tulsa[/name_u], [name_f]Savannah[/name_f], [name_f]Sienna[/name_f], [name_u]Holland[/name_u], [name_u]Ireland[/name_u], etc. have really nice sounds to them and share common sounds with other names.
One of my favourite boy names is [name_u]Paris[/name_u], but it’s a legitimate name that is entirely separate from the capital in question. And that’s sort of what I use when weighing whether or not a place name is acceptable to use. So [name_u]Jasper[/name_u], [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u], [name_m]Eugene[/name_m], [name_f]Georgia[/name_f] etc. are a-ok in my book. And fantasy places like [name_u]Eden[/name_u], [name_f]Avalon[/name_f] and even Asgard are fine as well.
But like… I’m from [name_u]Ireland[/name_u]. People in [name_u]Ireland[/name_u] do not name their kids [name_u]Ireland[/name_u] because that would be silly. So seeing Americans throwing it about casually as a girl name is just weird, doubly so when you count the butchered spellings (looking at you Irelynn). Same with [name_u]Berlin[/name_u], [name_u]London[/name_u], [name_u]Scotland[/name_u] etc. The people who use them as names never seem to be from said places, often don’t have anything to do with the culture, they can’t speak the language, and I’d wager that half of them haven’t even been to the destination in question. To me, using a very obvious place name that has no other association comes across as almost a little ignorant. But maybe that’s just me.
With that being said, I think that ye olde place names that are no longer in common usage are fair game! [name_u]Britain[/name_u] and Iraq aren’t cool, but ancient [name_m]Albion[/name_m] and Sumeria? I think those are doable.
I honestly place names! I like them more on people if I know there’s a connection to the parents or something (like my mom liked the name [name_u]Brooklyn[/name_u] for me because that’s where she grew up, not my name but an example). I love [name_u]Paris[/name_u] for a boy but I’m also a big mythology nerd so I associate it with mythology more than the city. I think it really just depends on the name, I know brothers [name_u]Britain[/name_u] and [name_u]London[/name_u] and they do fine and have never had problems and I like there names even though there a bit more obvious than say [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u]. But in general, I like them!
Im not sure what difference it makes if you’ve traveled there or not. Especially when you live far away from Europe its expensive to get there from places like the US! I don’t think you need to have visited [name_u]London[/name_u] to name your baby that if you love the name.
Place names are a resounding yes to me.
[name_f]My[/name_f] connection to the place is that I like the name and that’s all that really matters.
I like more unusual names, thus is just my naming style in general. [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u], [name_u]Cairo[/name_u], [name_u]Berlin[/name_u], [name_f]Tijuana[/name_f], [name_u]Juneau[/name_u], Sumatra, Seychelle, Kinshasa are all useable to me.
I think it’s not important to have been there but I do think it’s important to at least learn about the city you’re naming your kid after!
Berlin, for example, is a cool, hip place now, but it has a very complicated history, it’s a “name” that come with baggage. And if you are willing to forever associate your kid with a specific place in the world, I think it’s important to study the place and it’s baggage and think about the usability.
That’s why I can’t quite get behind the name India, for example, as lovely as it sounds.
It’s not my place to be offended by it but it feels weird to me when posh white people in the UK name their kids India.
There are some places like [name_u]California[/name_u] & [name_f]Florida[/name_f] that definitely have a strong connection to the place. But some names like [name_u]Florence[/name_u] & [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f] have little to no connection with the place.
I don’t mind place names like [name_u]Dallas[/name_u], [name_u]Sydney[/name_u], [name_u]Austin[/name_u].
I’m not a huge fan of the newer place names like [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u] or [name_u]Ireland[/name_u].
I love place names! Although I personally wouldn’t use any if I didn’t have any connection to the actual place
I love a lot of place names! I don’t think you need to have a connection to it/have been there (usually, sometimes I do feel that way) and I don’t totally understand that line of thinking.
Not quite sure where I draw the line, I just know I have a somewhat ambiguous one (sorry I know that isn’t helpful). A lot of it’s really dependant on the sound and vibe for me.
I’d probably feel the same as I would with any other out there name (not a fan of having one, but I know others love having one).