birthplace

American  

[burth-pleys] / ˈbɜrθˌpleɪs /

noun

1. place of birth or origin.

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birthplace British  

/ ˈbɜːθˌpleɪs /

noun

1. the place where someone was born or where something originated

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Etymology

Origin of birthplace

First recorded in 1600–10; birth + place

Explanation

The city or country where someone is born is their birthplace. If you move to Atlanta, Georgia, you can tell your friends you live in the birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr. You'll often find the word birthplace describing the origin of a famous person, whether you're visiting the birthplace of Elvis Presley in Mississippi or reading about Tuskegee, Alabama, the birthplace of Rosa Parks. Birthplace also shows up on official documents like passport applications, which require you to prove your birthplace by submitting a birth certificate. The Middle English version of this word was birthstede, from stede, or "place."

Example Sentences

For Pembroke Castle – the birthplace of Henry Tudor and a popular tourist attraction – the project represents an exciting new chapter in its history.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

The roughly 60-mile journey adds to the hundreds of miles she’s already traveled from her birthplace in Plumas County, in the far northeastern corner of California.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026

By chance, however, he'd ended up in the birthplace of hip-hop, right at the moment of conception.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

Once a classic American success story—he came from a family of striving Italian immigrants who ran Perry’s Grill on North Street in Endicott, N.Y.—Luciano’s life ended in Endicott, the birthplace of IBM.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026

The place is Vinci—a small town on the slopes outside of Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day