Santiago

For a thousand years, pilgrims have walked the Camino across northern Spain toward a cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, the city named for Saint James — Sant Iago, welded together by centuries of Iberian tongues. The name carries that whole journey in three syllables: cathedral bells, scallop shells, a long road lined with poplars. Santiago is among the most beloved boys' names across the Spanish-speaking world, and in the United States it has climbed steadily to rank 29. The pronunciation rolls easily in English and Spanish alike, and the rhythm — san-tee-AH-go — has the cadence of something remembered from a song.