Place Names

The name Lamorna belongs to a village, valley and cove in an area of outstanding natural beauty in West Cornwall, and to a popular Cornish folk song referencing the area. The name possibly derives from nans "valley" + mor "sea", or from lann "area around a church" + morlanow "high tide".

Lamorna

This delicate Umbrian place name would make a unique path to Ellie.

Ellera

If you're looking for a really untouristed place name, Aquitaine could be it.  Aquitaine is a region of France that includes both Bordeaux and Biarritz and is famous for such food and drink as its pates and cassoulets, Armagnac brandy and Bordeaux wines.

Aquitaine

Bardou is a holiday destination in France, known for its pictureque village nestled in mountains. It is also a region of Guinea. As a name, it is more commonly known from its English derivation, meaning axe-wielding wolf.

Bardou

A limerick is an often humorous form of poetry with five lines (the last of which is the punchline). Limerick could be a fun choice for families with Irish heritage or a good sense of humor. 

Limerick

Similar in sound to Meredith, this could be an interesting choice for parents looking for a unique name. Merri is an obvious and appealing nickname.

Merredin

Kiska is a Alaskan volcano island that has the sort of brisk sound to it that makes it fit in with both old names like Saskia and modern names like Pax.

Kiska

The name of the capital city of the Philippines is just conceivable as a baby name, giving off the faint scent of vanilla.

Manila

Has much too strong of a Brooklyn accent.

Canarsie

The name of an extremely civilized, wealthy city in the north of Italy merits more notice as a first name, a la Verona and Milan. It was used as one in the Canadian sci-fi series Killjoys.

Turin

One of several fascinating names used in Charlaine Harris's Midnight, Texas books and the NBC adaptation thereof, Fiji is a pleasingly quirky place name that's been little used for babies. Though it has been used quite a lot for fancy bottled water, we don't think it quite qualifies as a <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/10/water-baby-names">water name</a>.

Fiji

According to legend -- and, crucially, the Wonder Woman comics and movies -- Themyscira is the home of the Amazons, a mythical race of powerful female warriors. As depicted in the DC comics, Themyscira is a lush utopian island in the middle of a vast ocean. It was also the name of a real town in the Ancient Greek world, on the southern coast of the Black Sea in modern-day Turkey. While Themyscira isn't practically workable as a first name for an actual girl, it might make a cool middle name, or even proper name with Thea as nickname, for the daughter of big Wonder Woman fans.

Themyscira

Place names for boys are few and far between; this one would make a singular choice. Prince William of Wales uses this as a surname when required, as in his military life; Jimmy Wales is the entrepreneur behind Wikipedia, Clint Eastwood played the eponymous character Josey (!) Wales in the 1976 The Outlaw Josey Wales.

Wales

The famous home of Hamlet in Shakespeare's great play, Elsinore is based on Kronborg Castle in eastern Denmark. Known as Helsingør in Danish, it guarded the narrow entryway to the Baltic Sea for centuries.
 
Similar in sound to Eleanor or Lenore, Elsinore has potential as a name. While some may find it a little pretentious or be bothered by the 'snore' sound, it could make a fabulous middle name for a lover of Shakespeare, or a daring and unexpected route to popular nicknames Nora and Elsie.

Elsinore

Originally the name of a town in northern England, Airton and common variant Ayrton have taken on lives of their own as first names in Portugal and Brazil. This version is closely associated with Brazilian soccer player Airton Ribeiro Santos.

Airton

In the Bible, there is a reference to the Kerith Ravine, where God told Elijah to hide in order to be provided with water during a drought. There is also a Kerith in the James Michener novel The Source. A soft and gentle and very unusual addition to the category of biblical place names.

Kerith

The name of a Queens, New York neighborhood sounds like a lost-in-limbo girls' name such as LAVERNE.

Arverne

The name of a parish in Louisiana, Avoyelles has the characteristics that make it a prime possibility for parents seeking a unique place name, especially if Louisiana or Cajun culture are significant. It has built-in nicknames Ava and Elle that could make it much more wearable.

Avoyelles

Trilby was used first for a character by French novelist Charles Nodier (1822) and made more famous by writer George du Maurier in an 1894 work.  A Trilby hat, which Du Maurier's character wore, is a short-brimmed fedora of the kind recently revived by hipsters.  Du Maurier's character Trilby fell under the hypnotic power of Svengali: not the best choice for an independent and self-determining daughter. Still, if you want a unisex name that moves far beyond the usual Taylor and Morgan and has energy and feminine verve, Trilby might well be your girl. 

Trilby

Torille is the name of an Italian town, and is also found as a surname/

Torille

Place names for babies is an ever-expanding category, as some place names — Savannah, Dakota, London — become popular and parents look to adopt undiscovered locales as names for their babies.

Here are some of the more unusual new choices of place names. The top names below rank among the current US Top 1000 Baby Names and are ordered by popularity. Unique names rank below the Top 1000 and are listed alphabetically.

Place names for babies is an ever-expanding category, as some place names — Savannah, Dakota, London — become popular and parents look to adopt undiscovered locales as names for their babies. Here are some of the more unusual new choices of place names. The top names below rank among the current US Top 1000 Baby Names and are ordered by popularity. Unique names rank below the Top 1000 and are listed alphabetically. (Page 10)