Rare Place Names for Babies

Likable Irish surname name, but bound to be confused with Clooney.

The name of the 20th-century-created capital of Brazil has a good measure of spicy Latin rhythm and could make a possible female choice, while BRAZIL might work for a boy.

A perfect example of what a difference a single letter can make. Add an 'a' to the ho-hum Cathy and you have the old name for China, often used by such poets as Edna St. Vincent Millay and Ezra Pound.

Pronounced my-ORK-a, the name of this lovely Balearic Island, located in the Mediterranean, is one of the prettiest and most feminine of place names. The Spanish spelling is MALLORCA.

The name of an island in the English Channel that might make an attractive first name, but would work better for a boy.

Iberia, the name of the Spanish-Portuguese peninsula, makes an attractive, unusual first name.