Category Archives: Place Names

Morley

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serene wetland scene with duck and lush vegetation
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  • Origin: English
  • Meaning: “marsh meadow.”
  • Gender: Unisex

From the transferred use of the English surname and place name, it is the name of several villages in Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Norfolk. It also appears as the name of several places across the English-speaking world, including Australia and the United States. It comes from the Anglo-Saxon elements mōr (“moor, marshland, heath”) and lēah = “clearing, meadow, wood glade.”

As a masculine given-name, usage began sporadically in 18th-century England and North America. As a female given-name, usage started to occur very rarely in the third of the 20th-century. By the 1900s, in was very rarely taken up by Jewish families in Anglo countries as a translation of Mordecai.

Notable male bearers include, American photographer, Morley Baer (1916-1995); American politician, Morley Griswold (1890-1951); and Canadian news reporters, Morley Safer (1931-2016).

Notable female bearers include American American editor Morley Cowles Ballantine (nee Elizabeth Morley Cowles Gale Ballantine) (1925-2009) and American singer, Morley Kamen.

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Hudson

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  • Origin: English
  • Meaning: “son of Hudde.”
  • Gender: Male
  • HUD-zen; HUD-sen
  • First Est. 1697

From the transferred use of the English surname, meaning “son of Hudde.” The element Hudde is an early Middle English diminutive of Hugh. In some medieval contexts, Hudde was also used as a diminutive of Richard, likely through phonetic blending and nickname overlap (compare “Hodge” and “Hob” from Richard/Robert).

As a given name, Hudson first appears as early as 1697, in the record of Hudson Spencer, baptized in Canterbury, Kent, England.

As a surname, it was well established by the 14th century, appearing in English tax rolls and parish records. It was most famously borne by Henry Hudson (c.1565–1611), the English explorer and navigator for whom the Hudson River and Hudson Bay are named.

An early notable bearer of the given name was Hudson Lowe (1769–1844), a British Army general who served as governor of St. Helena during Napoleon’s exile.

Hudson first appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 male names in 1880, debuting at #909.
It remained within the lower ranks of the Top 500 from 1881–1919, peaking at #538 in 1893, before fading from use through most of the 20th century. The name re-entered the Top 1000 in 1995 and climbed rapidly in popularity, reaching the Top 100 in 2012. As of 2024, Hudson ranks #22 in the United States. His rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • #7 (Australia)
  • #15 (New Zealand)
  • #22 (Canada, 2023)
  • #42 (England and Wales)
  • #54 (Scotland)
  • #76 (Northern Ireland)

The name is also used in Brazil.

A crisp, modern classic with roots in medieval England, Hudson combines rugged charm with upper-crust polish. Its surge in the 2000s was helped by the surname-as-first-name trend that swept English-speaking countries.

Today, Hudson evokes strength, exploration, and refinement — a name that bridges heritage and modern appeal.

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Mostyn

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  • Origin: Welsh
  • Gender: Anglo-Welsh
  • Meaning: “bog town.”
  • First Est. 18th-century

From the transferred use of the Welsh place and surname, despite it being a Welsh locative name, it is likely Anglo-Saxon in origin meaning, “bog town.” It is composed of the elements mos (bog) and -tun (settlement; town). The first element of mos later evolved into moss in modern English, changing its meaning.

The Mostyn family were an old landed lineage in North Wales, prominent since the 13th century and known for their estates near the Dee Estuary. It is the name of two Welsh baronetcies created at the end of the 17th-century. The name later transferred into given-name use, first appearing in England and Wales during the 18th century. An early notable bearer was Mostyn Armstrong (b. 1791), an English creator of maps.

It is a rare but steadily used name in England and Wales, being given to at least 5 males per year as of 2024. It is often shortened to Moss.

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Nubia, Núbia

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ancient ruins by the nile river in egypt
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  • Origin: Ancient Egyptian
  • Usage: English, Latin-American Spanish, Brazilian – Portuguese
  • Gender: Female
  • First Est. 1820s

It comes directly from the Latin and English geographical term Nubia, referring to the ancient region along the Nile south of Egypt — roughly modern northern Sudan and southern Egypt.

The etymology of the place name itself is is from the Ancient Egyptian word, nwb or nub (gold).

The use of Nubia as a personal name arose much later, during the Romantic and colonial periods of the 18th–19th centuries in England, when exotic place-names like Asia, India, Arabia, and Persia began to be used for girls.

In the 20th century, the name gained renewed use in Latin America, particularly in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico, where Núbia or Nubia became moderately common among women born in the 1940s–1970s. It was further popularized in the 1950s by Brazilian singer Núbia Lafayete (1937-2007), whose birth name was Idenilde Araújo Alves da Costa.

In the United States, Nubia experienced a revival among African Americans during the late 1960s, part of a broader cultural movement that embraced African place-names and heritage-inspired names.

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Princeton

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ivy covered facade of nassau hall of princeton university
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  • Origin: English
  • Meaning: “prince’s town.”
  • Gender: Male
  • First Est. Mid 2010s
  • PRINTZ-tun

From the transferred use of the American place-name in New Jersey, known for its prestigious university, the town itself was named for William III, Prince of Orange. The name is created out of the English elements, prince and the Anglo-Saxon, -tun, meaning “town; settlement.”

As a given-name, it first appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 boys’ names in 2011 but has not become overly common. It currently ranks in at #614 (2024).

A name that evokes old money and New England elite.

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Struan

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  • Origin: Scottish
  • Meaning: “small stream.”
  • Gender: Male
  • First Est. 19th-century
  • Pron: STROO-an

From the transferred use of the Scottish place-name, it first came into use in the 19th-century. The name itself is derived from the Scots-Gaelic sruthan (small stream).

Struan is the name of a small village on the isle of Skye and another village in Perthshire.

It is borne by Scottish actor, Struan Rodger (b. 1946); Scottish politician, Struan Stevenson (b. 1948); and Scottish rugby player, Struan Dewer (b. 1989).

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Zayla, Zeila

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Zeila, Somaliland, courtesy of Wikipedia
  • Origin: Unknown
  • Gender: Female
  • First Est. 1600s
  • ZAY-lah

From the transferred use of the place-name, Zayla, sometimes transliterated as Zeila is the name of a port city in Somalia. The meaning of the place-name is unknown.

Zeila and Zéïla appear speckled throughout 18th-century Francophone records in France, Haiti and Louisiana. It also appears in use in Portugal. In this case, it may have been an alternate form of the French, Zélie or a typo for Celia.

There are records showing sporadic use in the Anglosphere starting in the 1900s.

In recent years, it is likely used as a more exotic sounding form of other popular names, such as Kayla and Shayla.

Zayla has appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 Most Popular Female Names since 2021. As of 2024, it was the 993rd most popular female name in the United States.

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Kingsley

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  • Origin: English
  • Meaning: “King’s meadow.”
  • Gender: primarily masculine, occasionally used on females
  • First Use: 16th-century
  • Usage: Nigeria, Ghana, English-speaking countries
  • Pron: KINGZ-kee

From the transferred use of the English place-name and surname, it is ultimately from the Anglo-Saxon cyning (King) and lēah (lea; meadow).

It is the name of several places in England, Australia, Canada and the United States.

Its use as a given-name can be found as early as the 1530s. There is a burial record for a Kingsley George (burial date, August 2nd, 1533). However, it could have also been a way to identify an unnamed infant by combining the father and mother’s surnames for documentation purposes. It is uncertain. There are several other burial records for male Kingsleys from 18th-century, England, however, it may be the same case where an unnamed infant was given a combination of the father and mother’s surname for record purposes. Birth records for Kingsleys start in the 1840s.

In recent years, it was the name of a character in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

The name is also popularly used as a male-name in Ghana and Nigeria.

Its sporadic use as a female name has only occurred since the late 2020s onward.

It appeared in the U.K. Top 600 names in 1996, and currently ranks in at #369. It’s rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • #409 (France, 2024)
  • #983 (U.S.A., 2024)

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Vaila

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  • Origin: Scottish
  • Gender: Female
  • First Appearance: 1855
  • Pron: Vay-lah

From the transferred use of the place-name, Vaila is the name of an island in Shetland, Scotland. It has experienced use as a female name on the Shetland, Islands since the mid-18th-century.

The name itself is derived from the Old Norse, Valey, the later half meaning “island,” but the first part of its meaning is unknown.

Vaila has also been in rare use in Sweden and Norway, but in this case, it may have been a phonetic spelling of the English pronunciation of the name Viola (“violet,” Lat).

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Willoughby

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Willoughby Road sign by Adrian Cable is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0
  • Origin: English
  • Meaning: “willow farm.”
  • Gender: unisex

From the transferred use of the English place and surname, it is from the Anglo-Norse elements, welig (willow) and býr (farm, settlement).

It is the name of several towns in England, U.S., Australia and New Zealand.

By the 16th-century, there were already records of its use as a male name in England. By the 18th-century, it is already being used on females, especially in Norfolk.

Among males, it was born by three Aston Baronets, the first being Sir Willoughby Aston (1640-1702). It was born by American architect, Willoughby James Edbrooke (1843–1896), and English actor, Willoughby Gray (1996-1993).