Feeling that geographical names have become kind of ho-hum?  It’s true that many people have tired of Paris and some of the over-visited names from the American West like Cheyenne, Sierra, Dakota and Dallas.  But that’s no reason to write off the whole category—we can renew our passports and look a bit farther afield for some fresher, more interesting and exotic choices from the global atlas.

　　FOR GIRLS

　　AILSA  —  Ailsa Craig is the name of a rocky island off Scotland, and Ailsa has long been used as a Christian name–as all of us namberryites well know

　　ÁLORA—  A picturesque Spanish town near Malága, overlooking citrus orchards and olive groves

　　ANDORRA  —  A small country located in the Pyranees—could work as an updated Andrea

　　CORTINA—Cortina d’Ampezzo is one of the most famous and beautiful ski resorts in Italy; a more feminine namesake for Courtney?

　　ELANORA –This name of an Australian suburb is used as a girls’ name in that country

　　ELBA—The Italian island best known as the site of Napoleon’s exile; possible update of Ella?

　　GENOA –Picturesque birthplace of Christopher Columbus, native version is GENOVA; a possible newer path to the Gen nickname

　　IBIZA  (ih-BEETH-a)—Another interesting island name, though a little bit lispy

　　ISCHIA (IS-key-a)—An Isla-like Italian island name

　　JAVA — This Indonesian island name was recently used by Lost hunk Josh Holloway for his daughter

　　LILLE —  (_LEELE) –_We’ve seen the growing popularity of double-L names, now here’s a French city with three of them

　　LIXA –An old Portuguese city with a modern-sounding name

　　LULEÅ — A city on the northern coast of Sweden; birthplace of the founder of the Nordstrom department store chain

　　LUCERNE –A Swiss canton and lake name, with the possibility of a Lucy nickname

　　LUZA – A Russian town on the Luza river—but too much like loser?

　　MAJORCA  (my-OR-ca) — One of the most elegant and fashionable of the Spanish Balearic Islands

　　ODESSA —  The name of a Ukranian port city inspired by Homer’s ‘Odyssey’

　　QUINTANA  — Quintana Roo is a Mexican state in the Yucatan Peninsula and is one of the prettiest Q  possibilities

　　RAVENNA –Italian city known for its Byzantine mosaics makes an appealingly feminine choice

　　TAVIRA —  An attractive town in the Algarve area of Portugal; a possible namesake for a Great-Aunt Vera?

　　TRALEE– The county seat of Kerry, Ireland, associated with the old song “The Rose of Tralee”

　　VALENCIA – Orange-scented Spanish city name

　　VALLETTA – the capital city of Malta, as well as being the surname of  glamorous model/actress Amber

　　VERONA –home town of Romeo & Juliet

　　FOR BOYS

　　ARRAN  —  A Scottish island with a wide diversity of landscapes; possibility of being confused with Aaron

　　BELLO  — A sizable city in Colombia

　　BRECON  —  A historic market town in Wales; similar to saint’s name Breccan

　　CADIZ —  A Spanish coastal province known for its windswept beaches, white villages and celebrated sherry.

　　CARLOW – An Irish county and city on the River Barrow

　　DONEGAL – Another of the traditional counties of Ireland

　　DURANGO –City in Mexico founded in 1565

　　ENNIS —  an ancient and picturesque town in County Clare

　　GUERNSEY – Channel Islands name that is also a surname and occasionally used as a first; might be used for a girl as well

　　MALMÖ —  The third largest city in Sweden

　　MALO  — Saint–Malo, France is a walled city in Brittany on the English Channel, named for the saint who founded it

　　OVAR —  A small city in Portugal

　　PERTH – The capital city of Western Australia

　　THANE —  A city in India near Mumbai, as well as the word used in ancient Scotland for a hereditary king (see Macbeth)

　　TOULOUSE  –a thriving city in southern France; a name associated with artist Lautrec

　　VIGO  — the largest city in Galicia, Spain

　　YORK – a beautiful historic city in North Yorkshire