Nature, Place and Word Names · Unisex Baby Names
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 37 pages
of 37
English, shortened version of Augustine, Latin
"great, magnificent"
More often used as a boys' name, parents have also been choosing Austin for their little girls - as the 176 female Austins born in the US in 2022 demonstrate. May we suggest the literary version…
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…
African place-name, Maasi
"cold water"
Kenya is fairly commonly heard as a girl's name, but its capital city makes a much more exceptional choice. The name comes from the Maasai phrase "Enkare Nairobi," which translates to "cold water."…
English, place name meaning "bright town"
"bright town"
Brighton has long been known as a holiday resort town on the south coast of England. A cheery unisex name, it was used for his daughter by Jon Favreau, but was a boy on the TV show The Nanny .
Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese
"river or place of the cherry blossoms"
Rio is one of Japan's most popular girls' names, constantly sitting in that country's Top 10. Of course, Rio may also stem from the Portuguese and Spanish word for river, and the Brazilian city Rio…
English
"meadow of deer"
An attractive North Carolina unisex place name, Raleigh's soft sound is particularly appropriate for a girl.
Place-name, Hebrew
"to guard, to keep"
Similar to but distinct from Samara, this pretty name was chosen for his daughter by rapper LL Cool J. It's the name of an ancient Palestinian city, located in present-day Jordan, and is associated…
English variation of Italia, Italian place name
Why has it taken so long for us to discover Italy? The name, that is. For decades, we have been using Italian place names (and those adjacent) like Rome, Roman, Milan, Milana, Capri, Florence, and…
Norwegian place name, Old Norse
"meadow at the foot of a hill"
Oslo, the capital city of Norway, makes for an intriguing new place name, especially with its bookended O's, as in Otto and leads to cool nickname Ozzie. One Berry has already used it and we predict…
English, Scottish
"garlic island"
Tough, cool, and rugged, Ramsey is a Scottish and English surname that has plenty of potential as a given name. Similar in style to Murray, Murphy, and Rafferty, it was chosen for around 90 boys and…
Arabic
"deserts"
A beautiful and evocative place-name that deserves wider use, Sahara brings to mind deserts and heat. Derived from Arabic, it is the name of the world's largest hot desert, located across the North…
Native American, Cherokee
"sparrow"
This name of a giant tree, itself named for a nineteenth-century Cherokee who invented a way to write his tribe's language, makes a strong, stately statement.
Place name, Latin from Welsh
"Wales"
Most names that start with Cam- are on the upswing, so why not this obscure term for Wales as well as for a prehistoric time period.
Hebrew
"highest point"
A Biblical place name and a unisex choice that has been on the rise in the US in recent years. With its bright sound and cool, zippy Z beginning, it blends religious significance and trendiness.…
Latin
"of the sea"
Marin is a lovely county north of San Francisco, and a lovely baby name on the rise, one which sounds more refreshing than the more familiar Marina. As a place-name, Marin is pronounced with the…
Place-name, world's tallest mountain
"from Évreux"
Everest has an attractive enough sound and lofty enough meaning to come into style, à la Sierra. George Lucas bestowed this aspirational name on his baby daughter in 2013 and it has been climbing up…
Italian, Spanish, Scandinavian, Slavic
"lady"
Sharper and steelier than Martha, but with the same underused vintage appeal.
English from Hebrew
"grass"
Abilene is a rarely used place name, mentioned as such in the New Testament, that combines the cowboy spunk of the Texas city with the midwestern morality of the Kansas town where Dwight D.…
Place-name
Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin's daughter Ireland opened up the map for names like Scotland, and now that it's been chosen by Kourtney Kardashian for her daughter Penelope's middle name -- in honor of…
Spanish
"rosary"
Anglo parents are taking note of this Hispanic classic, thanks to actress Rosario Dawson and a character on Will & Grace. Poetic and powerful, it comes from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary,…
