Abstract: A point-of-interest mapping search system that combines inexact string searches with a proximity search to provide an extremely high probability of return of a set of search results in an initial search response that are useful to the user. Relevance of any particular point-of-interest item in a combined inexact string/proximity is dependent on both (1) a quality of the name match; and (2) a proximity to the starting location (or other relevant search center point) of the POI search. The inexact string name/proximity search is performed efficiently by iteratively expanding a search radius around a given location, searching concentric circles of proximity until a specified target number of relevant results have been found. It is the combination of the use of a combined inexact string match together with a proximity search performed against a database of geo-referenced business names that provides advantageous results.