Unique Place Names for Babies

Russia

Russian place name

Consider ODESSA instead.

Samoa

Place-name

Evocative of the beautiful South Pacific islands, Samoa has very occasionally been used as a given name in American Samoa, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, and Brazil. Also used as a surname, Samoa could…

Sanibel

Spanish

"Santa Isybella"

An island off the coast of Florida makes an intriguing name choice. Sanibel was originally named Santa Isybella, after Queen Isabella of Castille, and was later shortened to San Ybel and eventually…

Saranda

Albanian, from Greek

"forty"

The name of a city in Albania, also written Sarandë. It is derived from the Greek word for "forty" in the context of the Agioi Saranda ("Forty Saints"), referring to the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste.

Seville

Spanish from Phoenician

"plain, valley"

A rare and evocative place name for a girl. Seville is the capital of Andalusia, an autonomous community in Spain. The Spanish name, Sevilla, derived from the Phoenician word sefela , meaning "plain"…

Shenandoah

Native American place-name

While some sources assign the place-name the romantic meaning "beautiful daughter of the stars," the Virginia region itself says the name is of uncertain Native American origin with many possible but…

Sweden

Place-name

"Swede, one's own tribe"

You may be surprised to learn 73 girls have been named Sweden since the 2000s. Appearing sporadically in the US name stats over the last twenty years, the name derives from the Old Norse Svíar which…

Tahiti

Polynesian place name, meaning unknown

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…

Tempe

Greek place name

The Vale of Tempe is an important place in Greek mythology as well as a real place in Greece. The ancient poets wrote of it as the halcyon dwelling of Apollo and the Muses. The modern cities in…

Topeka

Place name from Kansa

"place of potatoes"

The name of the capital city of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County, which is thought to come from a Kansa word meaning "good place to grow potatoes".

Tribeca

American place-name

Tribeca was the term created for New York City's TRIangle BElow CAnal Street. Stangely enough--that aside--it almost does sound like a plausible girls' name , nicknamed Becca.

Umbria

Italian place name, from the Umbri, one of the chief tribes settling the Italian nation

Umbria is a lovely, virtually unused Italian name for girls , reflecting the beautiful rolling hills of the area's countryside. And since it's right next door to Tuscany, in which Siena resides,…