Nature Names for Cats

Bluebell is one flower name that is used very quietly. Geri "Ginger Spice" Halliwell joined her former Spice Sisters in creative baby-naming with this adventurous -- some might say outlandish -- choice. Distinctive and charming? Or better suited to a farmyard animal? Your call.

A true maverick of a girls' name — even more so with this spelling, the least common between Indie, Indy, and Indi.

Unlike its somewhat formal Swiss city namesake, this is a lively and appealing place-name that also has a real history as a female name.

Best known as one of the moons of Jupiter, Callisto was a nymph coveted by Zeus who was turned into a bear by Hera, becoming the Great Bear (Ursa Major) constellation.

A sweet, nostalgic nosegay kind of name, Posy has been long fashionable in England, a country of gardeners, but this pretty bouquet-of-flowers name is still rarely heard in the US, though it could be seen as a more unusual possible alternative to Rosy or Josie.

Ridge may be the quintessential daytime drama name, but it's still better than most. This is one word name rising rapidly through the ranks, reentering the US Top 1000 in 2015 for the first time since 1989.

An evocative ancient word that's used as a first name in the New Testament, among other places. It's also the name of an eagle-shaped constellation.

Carmel is a biblical place-name that is often used by Catholic parents around the world. It is given in honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and is the name of a mountain ridge on the Mediterranean near Haifa in Israel, mentioned in the Old Testament, famous for its lush vegetation and said to have been often visited by Mary and the Infant Christ.

Now that parents have picked virtually every name in the garden, from the common Rose to the captivating Zinnia, some are reconsidering the old, more generic names like Flora and Posy and Blossom — which was last in favor in the 1920s and still has a Floradora showgirl aura.

In Japan the lotus is the Buddhist symbol of purity and perfection. In the US, Ren can also be short for Lauren or Renee, but it could be misspelt as the more popular Wren.

A sweet and rare spice name, which made its first and only appearance on the US baby name charts in 1969 – the year Neil Young's song "Cinnamon Girl" was released.

Even among the range of blue names on the current baby naming palette -- Blue itself, Azure, Cerulean, Teal, Aqua, Cyan, Indigo -- Cobalt remains the most unusual, not to mention the most masculine.

Birch is a rarely used nature name that calls to mind the lovely image of the tall, strong but graceful white-barked tree.

Tansy is a flower name rarer than Rose, livelier than Lily and a lot less teasable than Pansy.

Tempest is one of those names that could go either way. Cool, evocative modern word name? Or asking for trouble? Your call, but if you decide the former image is dominant, be warned that some people will see it as the latter.

Most parents today would prefer the softer-sell Stella. But Star has symbolic power related to Christmas, so this could make one of the perfect names for December babies.

Fauna is the Roman goddess of the earth as well as one of the fairies who protected Disney's "Sleeping Beauty".

A natural phenomenon that makes a stylish baby name. Teen Mom's Kailyn Lowry used it for her daughter, twin to Verse.

This body of water runs deep; the best of a group of new possibilities that includes Bay, Ocean, River, and the more established Brook. It has received attention via the actress Lake Bell. Lake would make a particularly cool and refreshing middle name, as Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady did for daughter Vivian.

A simple but unusual name with roots in disparate cultures, Neri appears in the Bible as a male name and is still sometimes used for boys as well as girls. The appeal of Neri are its deep roots combined with its simple, upbeat, modern feel, ala Peri and Rory.