Nature, Place and Word Names
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 7 pages
of 7
Place name, Latinization of German Osterreich
"eastern realm"
Austria is an nteresting, appealing, unexplored geographic destination, much fresher than American cousin Austin. A related and attractive possibility is Austria's capital city, Vienna, the name of…
Spanish place-name
"lower"
Pronounced Bah-hah, this name of the Mexican peninsula attached to California makes for an out-of-the-ordinary possibility.
Place-name
Name of a tiny Bahamian island that's better suited to a girl.
Spanish place name
"land of Bolivar; land of the windmill valley"
If you're tired of Olivia, you could be the first on your block to introduce this unique sound-related place name with Latin flair. The country of Bolivia was named after the revolutionary Simón…
Portuguese place name
"land of brazilwood; ember-colored land"
The name of the 20th-century-created capital of Brazil has a good measure of Latin rhythm and could make a possible female choice, while Brazil might work for a boy.
French place-name
Undiscovered name of picturesque northern French port.
Latin place-name for Scotland
"hard or rocky land"
Caledonia is a rhythmic and alluring place name used by singer Shawn Colvin for her daughter. It would make an interesting and apt choice for a girl with Scottish ancestry.
Anglicized version of Italian Catai; place name
A perfect example of what a difference a single letter can make. Add an 'a' to the ho-hum Cathy and you have the old name for China, often used by such poets as Edna St. Vincent Millay and Ezra Pound.
Place name, English from Portuguese and Sanskrit
"lionlike"
Lovely, international, tea-scented possibility undiscovered by baby names. Ceylon may ultimately be derived from the Sanskrit siṃhala , meaning "island of lions" or "abundance of lions."
Irish
"from the meadow"
Likable Irish surname name, but bound to be confused with Clooney.
Place-name and Latin
"dove"
Colombia is a South American country name, with a rhythmic sound and peaceful connotations. The Irish Colm, Scottish Callum, and Columba are all attractive relatives of Colombia (or Columbia, if…
Place name, English from Latin, or Italian, Corsican surname
"from Corsica"
Corsica, the picturesque Mediterrean island birthplace of Napoleon, makes an easy switch from atlas to baby name book, with its delicate, feminine ending. Just don't consider neighboring island…
"abundant fertile land; great place"
Soul singer Cuba Gooding and his actor son of the same name put this unexpected geographical name on the map for boys, but it has a longer history of use than you might expect. Deriving from the…
River name
Some parents are turning to rivers and other bodies of water in the search for undiscovered place-names, and this has the feel of a Viennese waltz.
Lithuanian, river name
One of the more subtle place names, Deimena is the Lithuanian word for the river Deyma, located in the Kaliningrad Oblast. It has seen small but steady use in Lithuania since the 1960s, peaking in…
Greek place name
"of Delphi; womb"
An interesting unisex possibility, with an air of mystery connected to the Delphic Oracle, the most important oracle in ancient Greece; it was also a major site for the worship of the god Apollo.…
British place-name
Two-syllable place-names are stylish, and this one is attached to a British city noted for its white chalk cliffs, but there are a couple of minuses: associated with the fish, Dover sole, and also…
Irish place-name
With Galway and Ireland in play as names (not to mention Shannon and Kerry), there's no reason this one can't work, too.
English place name
"land of the Angles"
Most parents would prefer London for their daughters.
English from Greek
"Burnt-face, red-brown"
The place name Ethiopia was derived from the Greek word for an Ethiopian, Aithiops , from the components aithō , "I burn" and ōps "face." As a noun, it takes on the meaning of "Burnt-face," which the…
