Uncommon Place Names for Girls
- Eritrea
- Galway
Origin:
Place-nameDescription:
The familiar Irish city and bay is one place-name that seems distinctly masculine.
- Geneva
Origin:
Swiss place-name or FrenchMeaning:
"juniper tree"Description:
Unlike its somewhat formal Swiss city namesake, this is a lively and appealing place-name that also has a real history as a female name.
- Guyana
- Hudson
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"Hugh's son"Description:
Climbing the charts for boys, and has just begun to cross over for girls, despite the macho "hud" sound followed by the "son" syllable.
- Ilia
Origin:
Variation of Iliana, GreekMeaning:
"from Illium or Troy"Description:
Three syllables in only four letters is quite a feat, but that's exactly what you get with Ilia, a more delicate version of Iliana.
- India
Origin:
Place name, from the River IndusDescription:
Euphonious and long stylish in England, India was one of the fastest-rising names on the 2013 list, after jumping 240 spots back into the Top 1000.
- Indiana
Origin:
American place-nameMeaning:
"land of the Indians"Description:
Indiana is one of those place-names (think Camden and Trenton) that sounds cooler than the place that inspired it. Its fashionable -ana ending certainly sounds eminently name-like, and Indie/Indy/Indi is one of the hottest nickname names for girls right now.
- Iona
Origin:
Scottish place-nameDescription:
This name of a small island off the coast of Scotland is trending upwards along with other I names.
- Ireland
Origin:
Place nameDescription:
Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin put Ireland on the map when they chose it as a first for their daughter, saying that geographic names were a family tradition. And it seems they were a bit ahead of the curve (or trendsetting)—Ireland has been among the fastest-rising names of recent years. Other Irish place names include Shannon, Kerry, Galway, and Dublin.
- Islay
Origin:
Scottish place-nameDescription:
Islay is the name of a Hebridian island famous for its whisky. Don't be fooled by the "y" at the end - this name is pronounced exactly like the more well-known Isla.
- Italy
Origin:
English variation of Italia, Italian place nameDescription:
Why has it taken so long for us to discover Italy? The name, that is.
- Ibiza
- Jersey
Origin:
English place nameMeaning:
"Geirr's island"Description:
An established place name that sounds more appealing when you attach it to the British Isles than to the Garden State. Its etymology is not certain, but it may derive from the Norse name Geirr.
- Jezira
- Kauai
Origin:
Hawaiian place-nameDescription:
Visitors to Hawaii's Garden Isle may want to commemorate the island's beauty with this place-name.
- Kenya
Origin:
Place name, KikuyuMeaning:
"mountain of white"Description:
Kenya, a name borrowed from the East African nation and theoretically unisex, is now used mostly for girls. While it's had its ups and downs since entering the US Top 1000 in 1968, it currently ranks lower than spelling variant Kenia.
- Kirin
Origin:
Chinese mythological nameDescription:
Kirin is a unisex name by virtue of representing a mythological creature that is part horse and part dragon and combines qualities that are both male and female. This is one Chinese name that translates beautifully to the Western world, where it resembles Kieran for boys, Kyra or Karen for girls.
- Kodiak
Origin:
AlutiiqMeaning:
"island"Description:
It's a bear, it's an island, it's (almost) a camera. It's starting to catch some parents' eyes as a wild, adventurous name.
- Kyoto
Origin:
Place-nameDescription:
Kyoto is a Japanese city name not yet on the map for babies, but why not?