Unique Place Names for Babies

Unique Place Names for Babies

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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  1. Deia
    • Origin:

      Place name; Latin
    • Meaning:

      "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.
  2. Fraser
    • Origin:

      Scottish from French
    • Meaning:

      "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.
  3. Illyria
    • Origin:

      Greek place-name and feminine variation of Illyrius
    • Description:

      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.
  4. Delphi
    • Origin:

      Greek place name
    • Meaning:

      "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.
  5. Dominica
    • Origin:

      Italian, feminine variation of Dominic
    • Meaning:

      "belonging to the Lord"
    • Description:

      Fashionably Continental and much fresher than Dominique, though it's been used since the Middle Ages. Dominica can be spelled any number of ways, from Dominika to Domenica, but we prefer this version.
  6. Inca
    • Origin:

      German, Finnish, Serbian, Spanish, Azerbaijani
    • Meaning:

      "ancestor; emperor; slender, thin, soft"
    • Description:

      More familiar as the name of an ancient empire from South America, when used as a given name, Inca can have a variety of different origins. While it is more likely to be spelled as Inka (or İncə) as a first name, Inca has seen usage around the world.
  7. Salish
    • Origin:

      Place name, English form of Séliš, Salishan
    • Meaning:

      "Salish people"
    • Description:

      The Salishan are ingenious people from the Pacific North West, made up of four major groups who speak one of 23 Salishan languages. The name "Salish" is an anglicization of Séliš, the local name of the Salish Tribes of the Flathead Reservation in Montana. They are known for their weaving and work with red cedar wood.
  8. Verona
    • Origin:

      Italian place-name
    • Description:

      Verona is a scenic place-name with the added attraction of a Shakespearean connection, as in Two Gentlemen of....
  9. Zuma
    • Origin:

      American place-name and Arabic
    • Meaning:

      "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.
  10. Madrid
    • Origin:

      Place name, Spanish, Arabic, Latin
    • Meaning:

      "watercourse, channel; source of the river"
    • Description:

      An underused place name with a sunny, stylish air, the capital city of Spain could provide a totally unexpected route to favorite nickname Maddie. While the exact origins of the name are unknown, possibilities include that it comes from the Arabic majrā meaning "watercourse, water stream", the Latin matrix meaning "source of a river" or the Celtic magetoritum meaning "ford". Whichever root you choose to follow then, the name has a watery connection.
  11. Scotia
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "Scotland"
    • Description:

      Place names can be a nod to your cultural heritage or a commemoration of a favorite destination. Scotia comes from the Latin name for Scotland, which may be a perfect fit for a family of Scottish heritage if Scotland feels too on-the-nose. Caledonia is another possibility, used by the Romans for the land north of Hadrian's Wall in England, which marked the upper boundary of the Roman Empire. And Nova Scotia (meaning "new Scotland") is also the name of a Canadian province.
  12. Kyoto
    • Origin:

      Place-name
    • Description:

      Japanese city name not yet on the map for babies, but why not?
  13. Caledonia
    • Origin:

      Latin place-name for Scotland
    • Meaning:

      "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.
  14. Ottawa
    • Origin:

      Place name, Algonquin
    • Meaning:

      "to trade"
    • Description:

      The capital city of Canada makes an unusual name for a baby, though it was recently used by nutrition and fitness Instagrammer, Kaleigh Kellner. The Canadian city ultimately gets it name from adawe which means "to trade" in the First Nations language of Algonquin.
  15. Chicago
    • Origin:

      American place name, Algonquin
    • Meaning:

      "wild garlic"
    • Description:

      Kanye West and Kim Kardashian have done it again for their third child: Chosen a name that feels iconic yet strangely inevitable. They named North and Saint's younger sister Chicago, after Kanye's hometown. The name Chicago derives from a Native American word for "wild garlic," which once grew plentifully in the Illinois city, the third most populous in the US.
  16. Texas
    • Origin:

      Place-name
    • Description:

      After Dallas, Austin, and Houston, the new cowboy on the block. Old-school Western nickname: Tex.
  17. Milos
    • Origin:

      Slavic
    • Meaning:

      "gracious, dear, beloved"
    • Description:

      Milos, typically spelled Miloš, derives from various names including the Slavic element, milŭ , such as Miloslav, Bogomil, or Milrad. Popular in the Czech Republic, the name is also used in Serbia, Croatia, and Slovakia
  18. Morocco
    • Origin:

      African place-name
    • Description:

      Morocco is an attractive and rhythmic name, evocative of such fabled cities as Casablanca, Tangier and Marrakesh, in a country whose unique landscape and rich culture attracted such twentieth century writers as Tennessee Williams, Paul Bowles and William Burroughs.
  19. Amol
    • Origin:

      Indian, Sanskrit, Marathi, Arabic
    • Meaning:

      "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".
  20. Tahiti
    • Origin:

      Tahitian, meaning unknown
    • Description:

      The Polynesian place name Tahiti was given to the island by its natives, although the origins of this name have been lost to history. Tahiti was once a Polynesian kingdom, but today is a part of the Society Islands in French Polynesia.