999+ Nature Names for Babies

Because of its meaning, a symbolic name given to boys born on TuB'Shevat, the New Year of the Trees, or Arbor Day.

Rayen is well-known in Chile, and sometimes seen in the Netherlands, as a Mapuche girls name meaning flower. This name could be an alternative to people who like Ryan but want to keep it as a boys name or as a spunkier alternative to other names that mean flower, such as Fleur and Flora.

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.

This name's buttoned-up British vibe is what makes it cool - that, and the fact that it was chosen by Anne Bronte as her pseudonym - Acton Bell. That's quite the literary - and may we add feminist - credential for a name. For those with an adventurous edge, Acton is one of the highest peaks in Antarctica.

Madelief is an uncommon name but not unheard of in the Netherlands, where 123 girls were called Madelief in one recent year. With its soft sounds and similarities to all those "Madeleine" type names as well as names ending in "eef/eev" sounds (Aoife, Eve, Genevieve), Madelief has potential in English-speaking countries to be a fresh and pleasant change from Daisy, Margaret and Madeleine.

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

Although the single-named singer is male, this might be a girl's nickname name or a sleek nature name that's perfect in the middle.

Snow is increasing in usage mostly as a girls' name, but hero Jon Snow of Game of Thrones just might nudge it into the boys' column. Currently, there are 12 times as many girls named Snow as boys, but its usage is much higher in middle place.

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

Multicultural name often heard in the Near East. Also spelled Neema.

This bright and breezy Spanish nature name sounds fresher than its inverse, Marisol.

Olea is an unusual botanical name that relates to both olive and oil, brought to public attention when it was chosen by actress Amy Adams as the middle name for her daughter Aviana. Olea is also an occasionally used Norwegian and Danish girl's name and is said to be an Old Hebrew word for night or moon.

Oaklyn is one of the oak-related names moving up the popularity charts, along with more popular sister Oakley and near-identical twin Oaklynn. The Oaklynn spelling used for three times as many baby girls as Oaklyn -- 1800 vs. 600.

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 cool, nature-inspired surname for someone who lived near an oak tree or in an oak wood, also spelled Oakes.

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.

Jacinda, a form of the lovely and unusual Spanish and Portuguese flower name Jacinta (for Hyacinth), was first popularized by the Australian actress Jacinda Barrett. Today, the girls' name Jacinda is most notable as the name of New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, one of the first world leaders to give birth in office, widely credited with her strong and compassionate leadership during the coronavirus pandemic.

Another entry in the fruit name category, this one borne by writer Strawberry Saroyan, granddaughter of William, so named by her hippie parents. While fruit names may become more familiar, they'll never pass without comment -- but maybe that's what you're looking for.

A plausible color name, it was chosen by the singer Sting as a middle name for his daughter, after a character in the Gormenghast fantasy trilogy, of which he's a big fan.

The Spanish and Portuguese word for "sea" is a Top 100 name in Spain. In America, it's sometimes used as a nickname for names like Martina and Marina, but it could also plausibly stand on its own.