Nature Names for Girls

A dramatic botanical smoosh name that's starting to gain attention among adventurous baby namers. If Primrose feels a little... well, prim for you, Wildrose could be a daring alternative.

An appealing surname-name that sounds perfectly feminine, unless you consider the association to Vice President Dick.

With Clementine on the rise and Clemence and Clemency considered chic in Europe, this unusual Latinate option could be a fresh alternative. Clementia is another, more common, spelling.

Rym is one of those simple-yet-uncommon names that's extremely rare in the US , where no baby girls were given the name last year. But it certainly can travel anywhere.

Rym is one of those simple-yet-uncommon names that's extremely rare in the US , where no baby girls were given the name last year. But it certainly can travel anywhere.

Despite the beauty of this flower's appearance and fragrance, this is one of the clumsier flower names.

While we don't see many parents adopting Otter as a name for their own babies, Zooey Deschanel put this one in the lexicon when she used it as a middle name for her adorably-named daughter Elsie Otter. Even in the celebrisphere, Otter is one of the most unique baby names we've heard.

Begonia is a pretty flower named for French administrator and amateur horticulturalist Michel Bégon, who was an avid naturalist but also a proponent of slavery. A rare floral choice which has never really caught on as a baby name, Begonia would certainly stand out from the Lilys and Roses.

Most ella names are hot, but this is one that won't catch fire because of the disagreeable connotations of prunes.

When British rocker Steven Patrick Morrissey decided to use his last name alone, it became a viable option for baby namers, a lot cooler than Morris or Maurice.

This very unusual botanical name refers to flowers that have a second color around the edges, commonly found in tulips and carnations. Thomas Hardy named a character Picotee in his novel The Hand of Ethelberta.

Feisty floral name that would work better as a middle name than as a first, so called because of the flower's resemblance to a dragon's open mouth.

Yarrow is a flowering herb that grows wild in Europe and North America, and has long been used in several Native American and European cultures as a healing plant. Named for the mythical god Achille, Yarrow is a symbol of enduring love.

Flower name that sounds a bit too much like a disease.

Better known as Tapioca, Cassava makes an innovative way to get to the nicknames Cass or Cassie.

Mesa is the term for a flat-topped mountain, derived from the Spanish word for "table".

Corymbia is the botanical name of many species of beautiful flowering gum trees. It is a rare, but attested, girls name in Australia.

Aromatic but also problematic.

Brooke variation – or is the other way around? – that makes it more a nature name, less an eighties-style androgynous name.

One of the bird names that's more appropriate for a boy, though it works for a girl too.