Unique Place Names for Babies
Updated Wed May 21 2025
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Unique place names are a hot category right now, following up on more popular place names for babies such as Savannah, Brooklyn, and Austin, all making the Top 100. But if you look a bit further down the map, you’ll find plenty of unique place names being used as baby names.
Certain unique place names — including Chicago, Essex, and Morocco — have been familiarized by their use on celebrity babies but haven’t caught on with the general public. You may be interested in a unique place name that bears resemblance to a currently fashionable name, such as Bolivia, Salish, Gwenonwy, or Kitts.
Or you could choose a place name for your baby that is virtually unused, including Amalfi, Madrid, Ravello, and Ottowa. These unique place names were given to 25 or fewer babies last year, meaning your child is practically guaranteed to be the only Quebec or Clovelly in their Kindergarten class.
Consult our complete collection of rare and uncommon place names for babies below, ranked according to their current popularity on Nameberry.
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- Deia
Origin:
Place name; LatinMeaning:
"joy; goddess"Description:
Sam Branson (son of businessman Sir Richard Branson) and his wife put this pretty place name on the baby name map when they called their daughter Eva-Deia in 2015. Their inspiration was the beautiful bohemian village of Deià in Mallorca, where the Branson family has a luxury residence.
- Fraser
Origin:
Scottish from FrenchMeaning:
"strawberry"Description:
Though TV's "Frasier" made the name famous, and Frazier is a well-used variation, Fraser is the original, used mostly in Scotland.
- Delphi
Origin:
Greek place nameMeaning:
"of Delphi; womb"Description:
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.
- Illyria
Origin:
Ancient place-name, feminine variation of Illyrius, GreekDescription:
Illyria can trace all its varied associations to the name of an ancient place in the western part of the Balkan peninsula, also called Illyricum. Its inhabitants, conquered by the Romans in 168 BC, were called the Illyrians. Its mythological ancestor was Illyrius, a demigod and son of King Cadmus and the goddess Harmonia.
- Juneau
Origin:
Place-nameDescription:
Juneau, the name of the city in Alaska, has rightfully taken a back seat as a name to the classic Juno. Most famous reference: When the pregnant teenager is introduced in the movie "Juno," the prospective adoptive father says, "Oh, like the city in Alaska." Juno takes a deep breath and then says simply, "No."
- Verona
Origin:
Italian place-nameDescription:
Verona is a scenic place-name with the added attraction of a Shakespearean connection, as in Two Gentlemen of....
- Caledonia
Origin:
Latin place-name for ScotlandMeaning:
"hard or rocky land"Description:
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.
- Lucerne
Origin:
Swiss place-name or LatinMeaning:
"lamp"Description:
Projects the calm and pristine image of the picturesque Swiss lake and mountain town.
- Zuma
Origin:
American place-name and ArabicMeaning:
"peace"Description:
Zuma was entered in the American name lexicon when musicians Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale chose it for their son. Californians will recognize Zuma as the name of a beautiful beach in Malibu, and it's also the surname of a South African president. With the lovely meaning of peace and its place-name associations, Zuma is one of those American names that literally sprang from the earth.
- Gaya
Origin:
Hindu, Hebrew, GreekDescription:
A multi-cultural name that feels on trend with sister names Maya and Kaya, if you overlook that first syllable. Gaya is both a city in India and an island in Malaysia.
- Temple
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"dweller near the temple"Description:
The old word name Temple has gained some recent notice as a girls' name via admired autistic writer and inventor Dr. Temple Grandin (born Mary Temple), subject of an acclaimed biopic, in which she was played by Claire Danes.
- Ravello
Origin:
Italian place nameDescription:
Ravello is an Italian town on the Amalfi Coast. It's a popular travel destination and was a favorite spot for many notable creatives, including Virginia Woolf, Greta Garbo, and Tennessee Williams.
- Ceylon
Origin:
Place name, English from Portuguese and SanskritMeaning:
"lionlike"Description:
Lovely, international, tea-scented possibility undiscovered by baby names.
- Genoa
Origin:
Italian place-nameDescription:
One of the newer geographical site names, it has the advantage of sounding like a real girl's name because of its jen beginning and feminine a ending.
- Marseille
Origin:
French place nameDescription:
Opulent French place name Versailles has been catching parents' attention in recent years, and Marseille, located in Southern France, is a similar feeling option. Reminiscent of other familiar choices like Marcelle, Marcy, Marisol, and Marlow, Marseille was given to 5 girls in the last year.
- Clovelly
Origin:
Place nameMeaning:
"ravine under the mill"Description:
Combining the sounds of familiar Ellie with the spark of contemporary Clover, Clovelly has a hint of Everly, Chloe, and Romilly about it too. Currently a very rare choice, and likely to remain so for now.
- Maine
Origin:
American Place-nameDescription:
Strong, spare, and highly unusual -- there were no babies recorded of either gender receiving this name in one recent year -- place-name referring to the northernmost state in New England. All state names qualify as distinctly American names.
- Nashua
Origin:
Place name from PenacookMeaning:
"beautiful stream with a pebbly bottom"Description:
The name of a city in New Hampshire which takes its name from the Nashua River, named by the Indigenous Algonquian tribe the Nashuway or Nashua. A striking alternative to Joshua.
- Texas
Origin:
Place-nameDescription:
After Dallas, Austin, and Houston, the new cowboy on the block. Old-school Western nickname: Tex.
- Amol
Origin:
Indian, Sanskrit, Marathi, ArabicMeaning:
"priceless, invaluable; unfading, everlasting; hope"Description:
Amol is a succinct and versatile name used by Indian parents, which can mean "priceless and invaluable" from its Sanskrit origins and "everlasting" in the Marathi language. Some sources additionally connect it the the Arabic name Amal, meaning "hope".