Unique Girls Place Names

In many Slavic and other European countries, Milan is purely a boys’ name, but in the US, it's also popular for girls – no doubt inspired by the fashionable Italian city. It entered the Top 1000 for boys in 2013, while for girls it has been in the Top 1000 since 2009.

With its relation to Mount Olympus, home of the Greek gods, and to the Olympic games, this name has an athletic, goddess-like aura, making it the perfect Olivia substitute.

Phoenix is a New Age name symbolizing rebirth and immortality. It's also a place name, a color name, a mythological name, AND an animal name, combining several of today's hottest trends in one appealing package.

An attractive North Carolina unisex place name, Raleigh's soft sound is particularly appropriate for a girl.

Salem is a biblical place-name in Canaan, believed to be the same as Jerusalem. Americans may be more familiar with Salem as the name of the Massachusetts town famous for its witch trials in the late 1600s. It's also a popular Arabic name widely-used for both genders.

Alluring and lovely — and much more distinctive now than Samantha or Tamara. Samara is a city in western Russia, a winged seed like the whirlygigs that fall from maple trees, as well as a bona fide first name that could make a more unusual update on Samantha or Mara. It can also be a variant spelling of the Arabic name Samira or Sameera.

A place name with a deep Southern accent, the once-obscure Savannah shot to fame, with others of its genre, on the heels of the best seller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which was set in the mossy Georgia city of Savannah. Originally a substitute for the overused Samantha, Savannah is now becoming overused itself, long among the top girls' names starting with S.

Sicily is a lilting Italian place-name that sounds like the elegant British Cicely -- which you might consider a plus or a minus.

Siena is a soft and delicate Tuscan town name given a big fashion boost by lovely young actress/gossip column staple Sienna Miller. A real up-and-comer.

Popularized for girls after Kirsten Dunst portrayed high school cheerleading captain Torrance Shipman in the 2000 movie Bring it On. Tori is an easy nickname.

This lovely orange-scented Spanish place-name would make an inventive namesake for an Aunt Valerie.

Vienna is one of the more popular of the European place-names, with a particularly pleasant sound, evoking elegant images of the Blue Danube, of castles and cafes, sweets and sausages and Strauss waltzes—and Sigmund Freud. It could be a possible substitute for the popular Sienna, although Vienna has been climbing the charts herself. Vienna was one of the fastest rising girl names in 2023.

Eighties spin on megapopular Whitney that currently ranks higher than the original. Whitley fell out of the Top 1000 for several decades but resurfaced in 2018.

Zaria, the name of the Nigerian capital city, could be another Z name for parents to consider. It currently ranks lower than variations Zariah and Zariyah.