I think the name Malibu is adorable for a girl, but is it usable? We have a son named [name_u]Dallas[/name_u]. Would American city names be a cute theme or is it too much?
I do think it’d be a pretty cute theme – Malibu has a fun quality that could technically totally work as a name. I’m not American but two other strong associations are the song and the liqueur for me – but I might be the only one.
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It does remind me of alcohol but the sound is kind of cool and interesting
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I think it’s a cool name. “New” place names are really in right now, and I think Malibu has a really good sound and is familiar because of the place but is still super unique and rare. Nobody would be confused by it because they would recognize the word but I think everybody would do a double take like “huh never heard that name before.”
I wouldn’t think of the alcohol right away, but I’m not a big drinker either. And people purposely name their kids things like [name_u]Jameson[/name_u] and [name_u]Jack[/name_u] [name_m]Daniels[/name_m] because of the liquor connection, so I don’t see why there would be anything wrong with an accidental connection to an alcohol named after a city. (Unless maybe you actively avoid alcohol, like you have alcoholism in your family or something like that.)
But anyway overall I think it’s a cute name. She could use nicknames [name_u]Mal[/name_u], [name_f]Mali[/name_f], [name_f]Libby[/name_f], or [name_u]Boo[/name_u]. And I’m not normally huge fan of name themes but I think the cities theme is cute. It’s broad enough of a theme to not be too limiting but also still give the kids a connection, plus none of the names would be too similar sounding (which is why I usually hate themes because normally the “theme” is just all names beginning with the same letter or something with the sound).
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Very posh.
Meh, I think of a [name_u]Chevy[/name_u] Malibu. Its ok. For what its worth Im unfamiliar with the liquor people are referring too.
i am well aware of the debate surrounding labeling names as “trashy” but for me the rum association/malibu barbie combo makes this totally unusable. i think sometimes it is important to remember that nameberry is much more open to and positive regarding unusual word names than the general public! if you must use it i’d do so in the middle spot.
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I agree with this in general that I think a lot of people will immediately think alcohol/Barbie/Miley [name_m]Cyrus[/name_m], which aren’t generally the vibes I think most people are looking for in a name.
Though, to be fair, I went to school with a [name_f]Malorie[/name_f] who was affectionately nicknamed Malibu after Malibu [name_f]Barbie[/name_f] because she was outrageously beautiful so it can have positive connotations as well.
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I think that the theme could work, but I don’t really like Malibu. I think it’s a bit too out there, especially for a girl’s name.
American Places Girls Names:
Arizona (nn Zoe)
Brooklyn
Cheyenne
Sierra (as in Sierra Nevada Mountains)
Indiana (nn Indie)
Dakota
Georgia
Virginia
Carolina
Sequoia (national park)
Acadia (national park)
I’m sure there’s more good ones, this is just what I could think of off the top of my head.
ETA: I think what really turns me off from Malibu is the ending sound “boo”. Could lead to bad ghost jokes, teasing, and uncomfortable situations with men. It’s just too easy to turn into Mali-boob.
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I don’t mind that it’s a place name, but as soon as a name has strong brand associations it kinda becomes unusable to me. Especially when it’s an alcoholic beverage.
I don’t love the “bu” ending anyway, it kinda sounds like the pet name “boo”!
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I find this to be a very hard truth for some……
Personally if I met a Malibu I’d be nicknaming her Barbie 
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Personally not a fan I automatically thought of alcohol 
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[name_f]My[/name_f] first thought was [name_f]Barbie[/name_f]. It has some strong associations which I’d personally avoid tbh
I think there are some really strong associations
-Booze
-cars
-Barbie
-Place
-song
While it’s not my favourite place name I can respect that it’s an appealing name for some.
I really like some other place names
[name_f]Verona[/name_f]
[name_f]Georgia[/name_f]
[name_u]Phoenix[/name_u]
[name_u]Arizona[/name_u]
[name_f]Adelaide[/name_f]
[name_u]Madison[/name_u]
[name_u]Austin[/name_u]
[name_u]Aspen[/name_u]
[name_f]Alaska[/name_f]
[name_f]Savannah[/name_f]
[name_f]Catalina[/name_f]
[name_f]Vienna[/name_f]
[name_u]Jordan[/name_u]
[name_f]Sienna[/name_f]
[name_f]Sahara[/name_f]
[name_f]Olympia[/name_f]
[name_u]Everest[/name_u]
[name_u]Salem[/name_u]
[name_f]India[/name_f] / [name_u]Indiana[/name_u]
[name_u]Dakota[/name_u]
[name_u]Chelsea[/name_u]
[name_u]Cheyenne[/name_u]
[name_u]Holland[/name_u]
[name_u]London[/name_u]
[name_u]Milan[/name_u]
[name_f]Brooklin[/name_f]
[name_f]Carolina[/name_f]
[name_f]Geneva[/name_f]
Devin/ [name_u]Devon[/name_u]
[name_f]Asia[/name_f]
[name_u]Bristol[/name_u]
[name_u]Eden[/name_u]
Louisana
[name_u]Montana[/name_u]
[name_u]Abilene[/name_u]
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I mean I hear Malibu all I think is coconut rum - Malibu and coke, as that is my first association, I knew of that long before I ever knew Malibu was a place in [name_u]California[/name_u].