Witchy Names

Rose and Briar are popular, and Hawthorn is cool – so why not the equally prickly Thorn? Add an E to give it a surnamey spin.

A handsome, spruced-up post-Bruce tree name.

The lotus is a meaningful symbol in many East Asian cultures, where it symbolizes purity, enlightenment, and rebirth. As a name, it's much more common among baby girls, but a small number of boys are named Lotus each year.

Branch is an attractive name with associations both with trees and with branching out into brave new worlds. Baseball's Branch (born Wesley, with Branch as his middle name) Rickey broke the color barrier by hiring Jackie Robinson for the Dodgers. Like Leaf, Branch makes a nice, not-so-obvious, addition to the tree category.

Fragrant herb often used for cooking, but scarcely as a name.

Mauve-tinted nickname with vintage charm that could just follow in the footsteps of ABBIE. More prominent now as the nickname for the Texas A&M sports teams.

One of the jewel names in use a hundred years ago, due for revival along with sisters Ruby and Pearl.

Alcina is an operatic name, best-known as the name of the beautiful sorceress of the eponymous Handel opera drawn from the Orlando poems. Alcina and her sister Morgana live on an island where Alcina seduces every passing sailor but once their novelty wears off, changes them into plants, rocks, or animals. Alcina comes with modern-sounding short forms Alcie or Alsie, which feel more baby-ready now that names such as Elsie, Elsa, and Isla are becoming popular again.

Queen Jadis, also known as The White Witch, is the main villain in The Chronicles of Narnia. She is the force responsible for freezing Narnia and creating the Hundred Year Winter.

Astrological sign with enough rhythm to make a plausible astral name.

The thistle is the botanical emblem of Scotland and would make a good if unusual patriotic choice for people with Scottish heritage. One of the few flower names that could be worn by a boy with as much ease as a girl.

A psychic mystique clings to this name of cards used in fortune-telling.

Garland is fragrant and celebratory, and also has a celebrity-tribute tie to the star of The Wizard of Oz.

While the mythological goddess Venus was female, Venus could be in the running of the new wave of girl names being adopted for boys.

Thebe is the name of more than one daughter of Zeus, according to some myths, and is also the name of a moon of Jupiter. Thebe rhymes with Phoebe and may appeal to lovers of that name.

A rarer-than-rare floral name with a sting in the tail!

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

Appropriate for a girl born between late September and late October, Libra suggests both balance and freedom.

Mythological princess who killed her kids. Eternal no-no.

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.