Nature Names for Girls

With related choices such as Lark and Phoenix gaining popularity, why not Sparrow? Though it's usually thought of as a female name, Nicole Richie and Joel Madden chose it for their son.

Arbor is an original unisex tree-related choice we're sure to hear more of. Highly unusual now, Arbor takes its place alongside other new arborial names ranging from the mighty Oak (or Oakley) to the more delicate Birch to the more flowery Juniper, Acacia, and Hazel.

Unspecific place name with a wonderfully wide-open, spacious, western feel; used for a character in Thomas Pynchon's novel Vineland.

Clove is a spice name that is a tad more piquant than Saffron or Cinnamon. It might get more attention now as a member of The Hunger Games family of names.

Name of the licorice plant, this spice comes in the shape of a star, giving this name an extra level of sweetness.

Bird name possibility, rarer than Lark and Wren but with the same short, punchy feel.

Soaring astral name has a great gender-free feel. It also has a pleasing christmas connotation, courtesy of the reindeer listed in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Sóley is the Icelandic word for the buttercup flower, derived from the words meaning "sun" and "island." It is also used on the Faroe Islands as a short form of Sólja.

Lovely entry into the tree name genre, joining Juniper, Oak, and Willow.

Captivating and appealing name — a maile is a vine used to make leis — getting noticed via writer Maile Meloy. Many pronounce it ala Miley, as in Cyrus, though native Hawaiian speakers say the correct pronunciation is more like MY-lay or MY-leh.

The Indre is a river in France. Spelled Indra, it's the name of a powerful deity worshipped by Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains — roughly the South Asian equivalent of the Greek Zeus or Norse Odin. But either Indra or Indre might make a simple, captivating, attractive name for a modern little girl.

With the recent arrival of fruit names like Apple and Plum, this more traditional example, symbolic of fertility, might rise in popularity. Photographer Berry Berenson was born Berinthia.

Nature names are often associated with Spring and Summer, but Glacier is ideal for a winter baby.

Chrysalis is a girls' baby name derived from the state of a butterfly or moth between larva and adult. A chrysalis is a hard-shelled pupa in which the transition of the butterfly or moth takes place. As a baby name, Chrysalis came to the fore as the rumored name of the baby girl of Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott, who reportedly love butterflies. Chrysalis does certainly have potential as a new word name or nature name for babies, with the simple familiar nickname Chrys.

This alternate spelling of Holly is still quite popular in the UK but hasn't seen use in the US since the end of the millennium.

This kind of plainspoken nature name (think River and Sunshine) may still carry a whiff of the hippie, but this one has a nice, airy feel.

A daisy-esque flower, although chamomile is much more commonly associated with the tea that's made from it.

Pretty and strong, Zeynep is one of the most popular girl names in Turkey, where it has ranked in the Top 10 for more than 40 years — half of which it has spent in the very top spot. Familiar in The Netherlands, the UK, Germany, and France, Zeynep is related to the Arabic Zaynab which is well-used throughout the Muslim world.

Leaf is a hippieish choice that, for girls, still retains an evergreen quality.

Ten times as many boys are named Oak as girls: about 50 boys last year to five girls. Of course, nature names don't have any traditional gender identification the way names like John and Mary do, so Oak works well for all babies. Oakley is the most popular Oak name for babies of all genders.