Unique Place Names for Babies

  1. Miami
    • Origin:

      Place-name
    • Description:

      Miami -- or Florida, for that matter -- hasn't achieved the place-name stardom of southern sisters like Savannah and Georgia. Quincy Jones used it as his daughter KENYA's middle name.
  2. Amsterdam
    • Origin:

      Place-name
    • Description:

      City name less mellifluous than Paris, London, or even Trenton. It was the name of the character portrayed by Leonardo di Caprio in "Gangs of New York."
  3. Texas
    • Origin:

      Place-name
    • Description:

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

      California place name
    • Description:

      This name of an attractive and arty California town could make an unusual but friendly choice.
  5. Perth
    • Origin:

      Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "thornbush thicket"
    • Description:

      There's a Perth in Scotland and a bigger one in Australia; this name could make a statement similar to Heath.
  6. Sonoma
    • Origin:

      Place-name
    • Description:

      Sonoma, the name of a beautiful northern California wine-growing region, might inspire some parents. Other California place names beyond Sonoma: Marin, Berkeley, Sierra.
  7. Kitts
    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Christopher
    • Meaning:

      "bearer of Christ"
    • Description:

      Derived from Kitt as a diminutive of Christopher, Kitts is known as the larger of the two islands making up the nation St. Kitts and Nevis.
  8. Galway
    • Origin:

      Place-name
    • Description:

      Associated with the poet and novelist Galway Kinnell, this name of an Irish city, county, and bay would make an evocative choice. For further literary cred, writers Liam O'Flaherty and Frank Harris both hail from Galway.
  9. Madron
    • Origin:

      Cornish
    • Meaning:

      "lucky"
    • Description:

      An obscure Cornish saint's name that can also be considered a place name — Madron is a Cornish village named for the saint.
  10. Brisbane
    • Origin:

      Scottish surname and Australian place name
    • Meaning:

      "break bone"
    • Description:

      Influencer couple Rachel and Jordan Flom put Brisbane on the baby name map when they used it for one of their triplet sons, born in 2024. Australian place names — from Adelaide to Sydney to Victoria — have long been favorites among parents, but Brisbane has a more modern, gender-neutral appeal.
  11. Andorra
    • Origin:

      European place-name
    • Description:

      Andorra is the pretty name of a pocket-sized princedom in the Pyrenees, noted for its skiing.
  12. Ireland
    • Origin:

      Place name
    • Description:

      This country name has come into steady use for girls in recent decades, and it's occasionally given to boys too. With interest in other -land names like Leland and Roland, we can see this patriotic heritage choice becoming more gender-balanced.
  13. Nashua
    • Origin:

      Place name from Penacook
    • Meaning:

      "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.
  14. Monaco
    • Origin:

      Place name
    • Description:

      With its trendy -o ending and connotations of luxury, we think the name of one of the smallest and wealthiest countries in the world has rich baby name potential.
  15. Suhul
    • Origin:

      Arabic place-name
    • Description:

      This romantic name of a city in Yemen was chosen for her son by supermodel Liya Kebede.
  16. Quebec
    • Origin:

      Place-name
    • Description:

      An interesting Canadian province and city name that has some literary history as the name of a character in Dickens's Bleak House; could make a distinctive choice for parents with northern roots.
  17. Panama
    • Origin:

      Place-name
    • Description:

      Sharing her name with a country, a city, an isthmus, a gulf, a canal, and a hat might be a bit much for a child to handle.
  18. Paros
    • Origin:

      Greek, place-name
    • Description:

      A Greek island and popular summer destination, Paros received its name after Parus, a son of the Arcadian king Parrhasius.
  19. Samoa
    • Origin:

      Place-name
    • Description:

      Evocative of the beautiful South Pacific islands; we've also heard Samoan used as a name.
  20. Baltimore
    • Origin:

      Place name, English from Irish
    • Meaning:

      "town of the big house"
    • Description:

      With place names extending their range, this is an unmapped possibility, though a bit stiff. Baltimore, Maryland was named after Cecil Calvert, the 2nd Baron Baltimore. Baltimore is ultimately derived from the Irish Baile an Tí Mhóir, meaning "town of the big house."