Georgia

Georgia is the feminine counterpart to George, both rooted in the Greek georgos, "earth-worker" or "farmer." The name carries peach orchards, Ray Charles lyrics, Keats's letters, and the steady, deep-voweled pull of the American South. It also belongs to the Caucasus country of the same name, though from a different etymological lineage. In the U.S. Georgia peaked around 1900, spent most of the twentieth century in soft retirement, and then returned through the 2010s as parents rediscovered its warm granny charm. Three syllables settle easily in the mouth, ending on that open vowel. Georgia feels like a porch, a songbook, a soft stretch of afternoon.