One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that automatically determines if a location is a standalone location, which can be unambiguously identified by a name for the location alone. During operation, the system determines a name score for the location which indicates a popularity of the name for the location. The system also obtains a signature for the location, wherein the signature is a set of combinations of location specifiers, wherein each combination of location specifiers refers to the location. The system then determines a signature score for the location which indicates a popularity of the signature for the location. Finally, the system determines whether the location is a standalone location based on the name score and the signature score.