999+ Nature Names for Babies

This botanical name is one of the few Dutch names that could work outside the Netherlands, especially in Germany or Scandinavia.

Occasionally heard in Ireland, small chance of success here.

Stockard Channing -- "West Wing" 's first lady -- picked this strong, Waspy first name over her original, Susan.

This name of the mythological mother of Achilles might suffer from English speakers making the rhyming association to the word fetus. The traditional Greek pronunciation might alleviate that problem.

Merrill, once fairly common for males, is rarely used for girls (or boys either, for that matter) with this spelling. Chef Emeril Lagasse dropped the initial E from his name and called his daughter Meril.

Possible middle name for devotees of detective Sherlock...or the actress Katie.

61 Cygni is a star in the constellation Cygnus. It's pronounced similarly to the Scandinavian name Signe/Signy.

Related to the Arabic Warda, Vered is a strong sounding nature name with a sweet floral meaing.

Veridian is a variation on Viridiana or Viridis, meaning green. Veridian is also the name of an American aeronautical company, so we recommend you stick with the alternatives.

Garance is the vivid deep red color that comes from the madder flower and that has become a fashionable name for baby girls in France in recent years. While it's virtually unknown in the US and other English-speaking countries, Garance makes an original choice in the fashionable flower category. While Garance is usually a girls' name in France, there's no reason it has to be gendered female.

This name of an Old Testament king is reminiscent of the woodsy nature name Hazel. Given to just 22 boys in 2023, it could make a similar but less popular option than Top 1000 Azael.

Dovie was a fairly popular nickname name a century or more ago, dropping off the Top 1000 in the 1940s only to be heading straight back uphill now.

Cormoran first popped up as the name of a Cornish giant in the 18th century fairy tale Jack the Giant Killer, which drew on ancient British folklore. Today, though, it is more familiar as the name of the protagonist of J.K. Rowling's detective novel The Cuckoo's Calling, published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Its proximity to Cormorant, a family of seagoing birds, gives it extra appeal to nature lovers.

This adorable name of the young daughter on "Big Love" might be thought of as a variation of Tansy, an obscure flower name whose star may rise on the heels of such current favorites as Lily and Daisy.

A blend of Mervyn and Marvin that is every bit as dated as either of the originals. That -erv sound is difficult no matter what. Mervin is still used today among Amish families.

With the tide coming in on a new wave of word names, this one just might catch on, especially for parents who relish sun, sand, and surf. Forest lovers can spell it Beech, like the tree.

In geography, a meridian is a line drawn around the curve of the Earth between the North and South Poles. The term comes from Latin meridianus, meaning "pertaining to midday", and the association with midday has led to the word gaining an added figurative meaning of "pinnacle; culmination".

Dael is cooler than Dale -- but why? Vowel switch gives an old nature name a hipper look.

A simple and appealing unisex Korean name with many possible meanings, depending on the hanja characters used. This spelling also coincides with the English word "sun", which is a nice bonus.

Ochre is an exceedingly rare name, found only a few times since the nineteenth century, and not showing up in any current data. Yet it means much the same thing as popular Sienna (another clay coloured with iron oxide) and sounds similar to fashionable Oakley. A strong earthy nature name that is both unusual and evocative.