Discover the Surprising Baby Names Dominating America’s Biggest Cities—Is Yours on the List?

Ever wonder if your baby’s name could double as a city you might actually want to live in? Parents today are castin’ their nets everywhere—nature, family lore, pop culture—and guess what? Geography is sneakily creeping in as the latest muse for naming new arrivals. Imagine naming your kid Charlotte—not just a charming name, but also a bustling city in North Carolina where over 12,500 girls got the same shout-out in 2024. Or how about Aurora, conjuring images of dawn, northern lights, and a Disney princess, yet also proudly represented in Illinois and Colorado? It’s fascinating—like giving your child a tiny passport stamped with a slice of the U.S. This on-the-map naming spree sparked a clever analysis by Lingoda, who lined up baby names from the Social Security Administration alongside America’s 300 largest cities. The result? A top 10 list of names that are more than just sounds—they’re places, personalities, and stories rolled into one. Ready to find out which urban-inspired names made the cut and why they’re lighting up birth announcements across the nation? Let’s dive in! LEARN MORE

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.

1. What (or where)’s in a name?
2. Top 10 Baby Names Shared With U.S. Cities

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). 

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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.

You can find the full list below, as well as the breakdown of each name’s popularity with baby boys and baby girls.

Top 10 Baby Names Shared With U.S. Cities