Name of a tiny Bahamian island that's better suited to a girl.

Jakarta, the name of the capital and largest city of Indonesia, is located on the island of Java. Both Jakarta and Java could make interesting and unusual choices for a girl.

Not yet on the place-name map, this name has Shakespearean ties via the Duke Of Albany character in King Lear.

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.

In Greek mythology, Zakynthos was a legendary figure who founded a colony on an island in the Ionian sea. The island, still known as Zakynthos today, is now a popular tourist destination thanks to its warm weather, white cliffs, and stunning beaches. To the Venetians who ruled the island between the 15th and 18th century, it was known as the "Flower of Levant". Zakynthos may also be written as Zacynthus, and the island is also called Zante.

Mexican place-name famously used by Joan Didion for her daughter, Quintana Roo.

Most parents would prefer London for their daughters.

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 Greeks used to distinguish between those in Africa and those from the Middle East, who had lighter skin. In adjective form, Aithiops means "red-brown."

Sonoma, the name of a beautiful northern California wine-growing region, might inspire some parents. Other California place names beyond Sonoma: Marin, Berkeley, Sierra.

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 island in the Caribbean Sea, it had a brief spell of popularity in the US at the end of the 1890s when Spain lost possession of the island during the Spanish-American War. Used predominantly (though rarely) on girls throughout the last century, it has occasionally be given to a handful of boys too.

Arty and unexpected, Giverny is a French place name, associated with Claude Monet and Impressionist art more generally. Located in the north of France, Monet put Giverny on the map when he moved to the (then small) village in the 1890s, drawing a number of other artists there too. Many of Monet's most popular works were painted there, including his Water Lilies paintings.

Derived from the Welsh place name Brynmawr, this adventurous sounding name, feels at once as rugged as its meaning but with a hint of gentleness, thanks to the unisex Bryn.

An unusual place name with a sea-inspired meaning, Embrun is a commune in the southeast of France, as well as a town in Ontario, Canada. Sometimes known as the "Nice of the Alpes", Embrun could get its name from an Occitan and French word meaning "seaspray".

The capital of Kenya makes a melodic and worldly 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 2005 with 12 births.

Consider ODESSA instead.

Son of Sicily.

Japanese city name not yet on the map for babies, but why not?

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.

Quito is a place-name (it's the capital of Ecuador) with lots of lively energy--as long as it's pronounced correctly.