Nature Names for Girls

Spicy.

An attractive update to Gladys.

Gladiola is a character in the 1991 novel and 1995 film How to Make an American Quilt

Blakeley is one of the many -ley ending surnames that is being adopted as a first name, updating the 80s darlings Blake and Ashley.

In English, a fen is a wetland fed by surface and/or groundwater. In Dutch and Frisian, it's a traditional diminutive of names containing the element frid, meaning "peace".

Not time yet for Thyme.

A rare flower name that works as well for boys as it does for girls, so named because of its resemblance to a small glove.

An old-man name that sounds cute when used for a little girl, and is starting to seem cool again for boys too. For girls, it might be associated with Mina Murray (later, Mina Harker) from Bram Stoker's Dracula and its many adaptations.

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

An Italian word name that somehow feels incomplete in itself.

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

Nimbus is a new nature name that works for either gender and manages to be both familiar and unique. An evocative and daring nature name for the future.

A tad spacy.

Malli is one of those simple-yet-unusual names that are intrinsically fascinating. In the US last year, only seven baby girls were named Malli.

A popular flower, but as a name we don't expect it to reach the heights of Lily or Violet. Its origins are not entirely clear: it may come directly from the French word carnation "complexion" (because of the flower's pale pink color), or it may be a corruption of English "coronation".

A rare and picturesque floral name, elaborating on the popular Lily. Waterlilies symbolize peace and tranquility, and there's a lovely artistic association too, thanks to French Impressionist painter Claude Monet.

Poppy is the most widely-used seed name, opening the door for Sesame. While Sesame has a pretty sound, it is not often used as a name -- fewer than five baby girls were given the name in the US in 2021. In kids' minds, this might be overly associated with Sesame Street.

Traditionally a masculine name in Wales, Celyn (pronounced with a hard K) is now used for both boys and girls. It could work as an alternative to Holly or an honor to a Kelly or a Caitlyn perhaps.

Accessible, aromatic Indian name.

Gwenora teeters on the line between unique gem and modern invention. But it's not a smoosh name fashioned from Gwen and Nora but an old Cornish form of Guinevere, like its much more famous sister Jennifer.