Rare Place Names for Babies

A beautiful and evocative place-name that deserves wider use.

The name Persia derives from Avestan Parsa, the name of the Indo-European nomadic people who migrated into southern Iran in about 1000 BCE. Persis or Persea, the feminine form of Perseus, feel more namelike.

This lovely Umbrian hill town became a striking first name for the young daughter of Jade Jagger.

This name of one of the most romantic cities in the world could easily find its way onto an American baby girl's birth certificate.

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.

Romany is a melodious name referring to the Roma or Romani community and their culture, which makes it a potentially controversial choice for a baby not of that heritage. Romany Malco is an actor who appeared on the television show "Weeds." Other similar ideas: Roman, Romano, or Romeo.

Authentic, melodic place-name for the adventurous, chosen by rapper LL Cool J for his daughter and given to nearly 80 baby girls in the US last year. Italia of course is what the Italians call Italy.

An established place name, associated with a sunny island in the English Channel, the Garden State in the US, knitted pullovers, reality TV, and a Broadway musical. It peaked in the late 2000s and though it is now in decline, 130 girls and nearly 50 boys received the name in 2023.

-ey meaning "island". Alternative theories suggest it comes from jarl ,meaning "earl" or hjǫr meaning "sword".

Louisiana is a geographic spin on the Louise theme. Pretty, if a bit of a syllable overload. Short form Lou or Lulu lightens it.

This name's connection to the Caribbean Cayman Islands gives it a nice resortish feel, while still feeling like an in-tune-with-style boy's name.

Consider ODESSA instead.

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

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.

With Galway and Ireland in play as names (not to mention Shannon and Kerry), there's no reason this one can't work, too.

Philippine would be taken as an ethnic identification rather than a name in the U.S. Better try Philippa, though if you don't mind eternally correcting people, Philippine can make an interesting alternative. Pippa can be a short form of Philippine as well as Philippa.

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

The name of the capital city of the Philippines is just conceivable as a baby name, giving off the faint scent of vanilla.

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, maybe Umbria could be a follow-up to the popular Siena-Sienna.

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.

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.