[Verginius Rufus]

I don't know if we can consider Herodotus an authority on this subject. There are some placenames in Asia Minor that seem to be of similar origin, and part of that was the area inhabited in his time by Carians.

Besides the -nth- place names (and loanwords like plinthos for brick and erebinthos for garbanzo bean) there are place names in -ss- or -tt- all over the Aegean area: Larissa, Parnassos, Hymettos, Knossos, Halikarnassos (Herodotus' birthplace), Tylissos, etc. Plus loanwords like thalassa (or thalatta) for sea, glossa (glotta) for tongue, nesos for island, melissa for bee, etc.

On Rhodes there is the place name Lindos. The -nd- form seems to be a variation of -nth-.

[SunkenCiv]

The observation about the -nth place names isn't from Herodotus, it's modern. -nth place names are found as far afield as the north end of the Adriatic and the shores of the Tyrrhenian. As you said, the H-man grew up in a Carian city, probably spoke Carian or some Carian, probably had Carian relatives -- and of course, was a couple thousand years closer to the problem than we are..