Nature, Place and Word Names
Rare Place Names for Babies
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About this list
Rare place names for babies are those that are undiscovered. Some place names, such as Cayman and Nile, can be used for boys, but most of the rare place names work best for baby girls.
Along with Cayman and Oslo, other rare place names for babies include Avalon, Cyprus, Delphi, Marbella, Nairobi, Quebec, Sicily, and Bronx. Rare place names inspired by American states include Alabama, Jersey, Louisiana, and Indiana.
City names for boys in the rare category include Rio, York, and Charleston. Unique city names for girls include Venice and Atlanta. Unusual gender-neutral city names are Havana and Reno.
Here are some choices both on and off the map, including unique city names, country names, island names, and the names of mythical lands, all of which can be used for babies.
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The names
Manila
Place name
The name of the capital city of the Philippines is just conceivable as a baby name, giving off the faint scent of vanilla.
Rio
Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese
"river; place of the cherry blossoms"
Rio is a reductive ranchero place-name with an attractive Tex-Mex lilt. No Doubt's Tom Dumont has a son named Rio Atticus. Also a South American place name, and associated with the Rio Grande, it's…
Kenai
Native American place name
"flat lands"
The name of the protagonist of Disney’s Brother Bear also has a geographical connection: the Kenai Peninsula and Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska. With boy names like Kai and Levi at the top of…
York
English
"from the yew estate"
Brisk, preppy York is an underused classic with the potential to really shine in the 21st century. It's most familiar as a place name — York is a city in England — and surname. New York City and…
Everest
Place-name, world's tallest mountain
"from Évreux"
This twist on the popular Everett takes it to lofty heights and gives it a geographical and nature-inspired link. The snow-capped Everest could make a name that stands out without feeling too out…
Verona
Italian place-name
Verona is a scenic place-name with the added attraction of a Shakespearean connection, as in Two Gentlemen of ....
Reno
Place-name
Has a lively and swaggering sound, and also some unfortunate associations with Reno, city of gambling and failed marriages.
Lourdes
Spanish, Portuguese, from French, meaning unknown
This name of the French town where a young peasant girl had a vision of the Virgin Mary in 1858 vaulted into the spotlight when Madonna chose it for her daughter, but few other families except for…
Venice
Italian place-name
This name of one of the most romantic cities in the world could easily find its way onto an American baby girl's birth certificate.
Alabama
Place-name; Choctaw
"vegetation gatherers"
Alabama is a hot southern place-name, picking up from Georgia and Savannah. This is not a geographical name come lately, though--there have been girls named Alabama dating back well over a century.…
Louisiana
French place-name
Louisiana is a geographic spin on the Louise theme. Pretty, if a bit of a syllable overload. Short form Lou or Lulu lightens it.
Odessa
Russian form of Odesa, Ukrainian place-name
"voyage"
Odessa, (transcribed as Odesa in Ukrainian) is a Ukrainian port city and was given its name by Catherine the Great, who was inspired by Homer's Odyssey . It would make an original and intriguing…
Valencia
Spanish
"brave, strong"
This lovely orange-scented Spanish place-name would make an inventive namesake for an Aunt Valerie. Last on the popularity list in 1994, Valencia reached a high of Number 633 in 1969-70. The…
Nile
River name, color name, or variation of Niall, Irish
"champion"
Water names are a cool category these days, and this one of the famous Egyptian river is no exception. It streamlines the fussier Niles and also may be thought of as a color name, meaning dark blue…
Trinidad
Spanish
"holy trinity"
Rhythmic name with both religious and geographical ties, commonly heard in Latin countries.
Ireland
Place name
Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin put Ireland on the map when they chose it as a first for their daughter, saying that geographic names were a family tradition. And it seems they were a bit ahead of the…
Palma
Latin place-name, Spanish, Italian, Croatian
"palm"
Palma is an appealing Latin name that's both geographical and botanical, referring to the sunny and culturally rich capital of Majorca and to the foliage of a palm tree. As the word for "palm" in…
Olympia
Greek
"from Mount Olympus"
With its relation to Mount Olympus, home of the Greek gods, and to the Olympic games, this name has an athletic, goddess-like aura, making it the perfect Olivia substitute. A well-known art reference…
Roma
Italian place-name
Never as popular as Florence; today's parents might prefer Venezia, Verona, or Romy. It is also a Hindu name meaning "one with shiny hair" and is another name for the goddess Lakshmi. In Roman…
Indiana
American place-name
"land of the Indians"
Indiana is one of those place-names (think Camden and Trenton) that sounds cooler than the place that inspired it. Its fashionable -ana ending certainly sounds eminently name-like, and…
