diff --git a/docs/CURRENT-STATE.md b/docs/CURRENT-STATE.md
index cc4e7b861..529ffb6e6 100644
--- a/docs/CURRENT-STATE.md
+++ b/docs/CURRENT-STATE.md
@@ -5191,7 +5191,11 @@ HTTP refusals and outages remain retryable. Searches share a 12-second total
 deadline, with Photon requests capped at six seconds each. Caller/application
 cancellation stops retries and late cache writes. Replacing a location search
 cancels the previous lookup; disposing its controls cancels the active lookup. Photon uses a soft proximity bias, up to five
-candidates, and an unbiased retry for name mismatches. Invalid/wrapped bounds
+candidates, and an unbiased retry for name mismatches. A "place, region" query
+only accepts a candidate named exactly for the place whose city, county, state,
+country or country code (or USA/UK) contains the region; nearby results that
+fail that check are retried unbiased, and a nearby place whose whole name is the
+query (one with a comma in it) is the last choice. Invalid/wrapped bounds
 are omitted rather than framing the wrong part of the globe.
 
 ### Map Stack Switcher (June 2026)
diff --git a/src/keylessGeocoder.js b/src/keylessGeocoder.js
index 5c69a5aa0..2712dd423 100644
--- a/src/keylessGeocoder.js
+++ b/src/keylessGeocoder.js
@@ -390,16 +390,22 @@ export async function geocodeKeylessWithOutcome(
   // to the wrong continent. So a biased answer is only accepted when it leads
   // with the name asked for; otherwise the same query runs unbiased, which is
   // what a user searching for somewhere off-screen meant in the first place.
-  // A query naming a region is only answered nearby by a match inside it.
+  // A query naming a region is answered nearby only by a match inside it.
+  // A nearby place whose own name has a comma ("Bed, Bath & Beyond") and
+  // equals the whole query is kept as the last choice, after the region
+  // checks of both passes.
   let feature = null;
+  let nearbyNameMatch = null;
   let everyAskAnswered = true;
   if (bias) {
     const biased = await ask(photonSearchUrl(trimmed, { bias, endpoint }));
     if (biased === null) everyAskAnswered = false;
-    else
-      feature = queryRegion(trimmed)
-        ? selectQualifiedFeature(biased, trimmed)
-        : selectPhotonFeature(biased, normalizeToponym(trimmed));
+    else if (queryRegion(trimmed)) {
+      feature = selectQualifiedFeature(biased, trimmed);
+      nearbyNameMatch = selectPhotonFeature(biased, normalizeToponym(trimmed));
+    } else {
+      feature = selectPhotonFeature(biased, normalizeToponym(trimmed));
+    }
   }
 
   signal?.throwIfAborted();
@@ -415,9 +421,11 @@ export async function geocodeKeylessWithOutcome(
       const head = normalizeToponym(trimmed.split(',')[0]);
       feature =
         selectQualifiedFeature(anywhere, trimmed) ||
+        nearbyNameMatch ||
         selectPhotonFeature(anywhere, head, { allowContains: true }) ||
         anywhere[0];
     }
+    if (!feature) feature = nearbyNameMatch;
   }
 
   signal?.throwIfAborted();
diff --git a/src/keylessGeocoder.test.mjs b/src/keylessGeocoder.test.mjs
index 81e910fe5..7759d5226 100644
--- a/src/keylessGeocoder.test.mjs
+++ b/src/keylessGeocoder.test.mjs
@@ -560,3 +560,26 @@ test('"UK" names the United Kingdom', () => {
   };
   assert.equal(selectQualifiedFeature([ontario, london], 'London, UK'), london);
 });
+
+test('a nearby place whose own name has a comma still wins when nothing matches as place and region', async () => {
+  const store = (lon, lat, city) => ({
+    geometry: { type: 'Point', coordinates: [lon, lat] },
+    properties: {
+      osm_key: 'shop',
+      osm_value: 'houseware',
+      name: 'Bed, Bath & Beyond',
+      city,
+      countrycode: 'US',
+    },
+  });
+  const nearby = store(-104.94, 39.66, 'Denver');
+  const fetchImpl = photonPair([nearby], [store(-73.99, 40.74, 'New York')]);
+
+  const result = await geocodeKeyless('Bed, Bath & Beyond', {
+    bias: '39.60,-105.00|39.70,-104.90',
+    fetchImpl,
+  });
+
+  assert.match(result.label, /Denver/);
+  assert.equal(fetchImpl.urls.length, 2, 'the region checks ran first');
+});