They say travelling broadens the mind, but what they don't always mention is that it can also inspire your choice of baby names!

Just ask the likes of the Beckhams, Tyson Fury, or Paris Hilton, and they'll affirm that travel-inspired names are all the rage.

Here at Givetastic, we love tossing around adventurous baby name ideas in the office, so this data-driven study was right up our alley.

In order to qualify as a 'global hotspot,' we've set the bar that a name must be associated with a location boasting a population of at least 1 million people.

From Rome to Rio, Sofia to Santiago, we've got you covered if you're on the lookout for a name inspired by a vibrant location for your little one!

The ‘Land of Love’ (Italy) provides Popular Baby Name Inspiration for UK Parents 

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Whether it’s a preferred holiday destination, a hometown - *cough* Reese Witherspoon *cough* - or even the city of conception, these location-inspired baby names are all great options if you fancy something a little left field.

Girls

If you’ve got a baby girl on the way, there’s a plethora of adorable names to choose from if you love your geography!

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The most popular of these location-inspired names is Florence. Established by the Romans in 59 BC, the idyllic capital of Tuscany shares its name with 2,251 UK-based babies born last year. It’s also the 12th most popular girls name in the entire UK. 

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Second spot belongs to the most populous city in North Carolina - Charlotte. A name of French origin, meaning “petite”, Charlotte is an incredibly popular name with Princess status! The most recent data revealed that 1,955 babies were named Charlotte across the year, making it the 21st most popular girls name in the UK. 

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In third place, the elegant name Sofia. Shared with the capital of Bulgaria,  1,860 baby girls were given the name last year making it the 23rd most popular girls name in the UK.

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Boys

When it comes to boys' names, Roman sat atop the throne by quite a significant margin. Whether parents have gathered inspiration from the ancient empire or a character from Succession, Roman was the name given to 2,064 boys last year. Roman is also the 27th most popular boys name for the whole of the UK. 

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Capital of tongue-twisting U.S. state, Mississippi, Jackson is the 2nd most popular location-inspired baby name for boys with 692 registered names. Finally, Leon takes third spot with 680 registered names that may have an affiliation to the Mexican city with just under 2 million inhabitants!

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The rest of the top 10 list also includes quirky names like Austin (537), Phoenix (351) and Lincoln (340).

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Gender Neutral 

The popularity of unisex names continues to grow with so many great options to choose from. Here’s the top 10 most popular UK baby names inspired by global hotspots around the world.

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As you will see from the list, we have a bunch of unique unisex names for wanderlusters  to explore. 

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Phoenix takes top spot with 445 registered names over the last year. 351 of these babies were registered as boys (78.9%), while 94 were registered as girls (21.1%). Derived from a mythological bird, the trendy name is also the second largest city in Arizona.

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The name Rio is not too far behind in second place. 375 UK-born babies share their name with Brazil’s lively capital city. 347 of these babies are registered male (92.5%), while 28 are registered female (7.5%).

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Jordan took the bronze with 291 registered babies last year, while other stylish names like Milan (213), Brooklyn (128), Sydney (118) and Indiana (107) also make up the top 10 list.

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US Data

Home comforts: US-based Parents find Baby Name Inspiration a little closer to home 

But how do names differ from the UK to the US? Below, you’ll find out the most popular US baby names inspired by global hotspots around the world.

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Girls

In the US, Charlotte goes one spot better than the UK as the most popular location-inspired baby name for girls with 12,891 registrations. The prestigious name is incredibly popular in both US and UK and was the 4th most popular girls name in the US last year.

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From Bulgaria to Baltimore, Sofia is another name that travels well. 7,254 baby girls in the US were given the charming name, making it the 2nd most popular travel-inspired name and the 14th most popular name overall in the US.

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In third place is Elizabeth - another popular name with royal connotations that shares its glory with a city in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As well as  being the name bestowed upon 6,964 girls in 2022, Elizabeth was also the 16th most popular  American girls name last year.

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A few other stylish names to make the top 10 list include Mila (6,445), Savannah (3,034) and Athena (3,008).

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Boys

Our results have confirmed that a number of travel-inspired boys' names are just as popular in the US as they are here, in the UK.

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One example of this is the name Jackson, which takes top spot on the leaderboard. With 8,070 registrations in 2022, Jackson was also the 24th most popular baby boy’s name in the US last year.

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Second spot shares its name with the capital of Chile. Have you got it? Well done to those who picked Santiago! Alongside the 6,017 other parents in the US. Santiago ranks in 49th position when it comes to popular baby boy names in the US.

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Lincoln follows in third place with 5,599 registrations in 2022 making it the 55th most popular American boys name. Everett (4,100), Kingston (2,900) and Tyler (2,252) are a few other names that make the top 10 list in the US.

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Gender Neutral 

Rather interestingly, Jackson also happens to be the most popular unisex name inspired by global hotspots with 8,092 registrations. Despite there only being 22 girls named Jackson in the US in 2022 compared to the 8,070 boys, the name still makes our top list based on our methodology.

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Second place belongs to Lincoln with 5,723 total registrations. Not only do these children share their name with a city in England, but with a US president as well. Only 124 of these babies were registered as females (2.1%) and 5,599 were registered as males (97.9%).

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Madison takes third spot with 5,506 registrations.  A whopping 99.5% of these registrations are female, but there’s also 27 boys who share their name with the capital city of U.S. state, Wisconsin.

Conclusion

Naming your baby can be one of the most important decisions you ever make, as it (usually) stays with them for life.  

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Is it old-fashioned? Should we choose a relative’s name? What’s the nickname going to be? These are just a few of the questions whizzing around a parent’s mind as  they deliberate the naming process.

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A recent baby naming trend - inspired by numerous celebrities - has seen a lot of children’s names influenced by places around the world.

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As a result of this, we really wanted to sift through the data and reveal the most popular baby names inspired by real-life global hotspots. The data bore some fruitful results to assist travel loving parents in their baby-naming journey.

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If you’d like to check out our complete data you can do so by following the link here.

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Know someone who’s expecting, just had a baby, or hosting a baby shower? Check out Givetastic for the easiest and most efficient way to collect money for group gifts.

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Methodology

• We gathered the most recent baby name data for England & Wales (2021) | Scotland (2022) | Northern Ireland (2022) and the USA (2022).
• We then curated a list of Global Locations (including relevant keywords) around the world with a population of 100,000 or more in order to classify them as ‘Global Hotspots’.
• We then combined the baby name data with our Global Locations list to determine the most popular Baby Names inspired by Global Hotspots.
• To pass as a Gender Neutral name, we pre-determined that a count of at least 10 identical name occurences from each sex was appropriate to avoid any discrepancies from the baby name data.  

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