999+ Nature Names for Babies

Could be used in an Indian family for a garden-lover's son.

Pacific is an adventurous kind of place-name, with the added bonus of the association with peace.

The Old Norse and modern Norwegian word name Fjord, which refers to a passage in the sea, could work for children of both genders.

Gwyneth Paltrow's Apple has opened the world of botanical names beyond flowers to trees, herbs, fruits, and -- why not. -- nuts.

Gardener is surely one of the most pleasant and evocative of the occupational options, calling up images of green grass and budding blooms. The name can also be spelled without the first 'e', as in Gardner (born George Cadogan Gardner) McCay, a hunky TV heartthrob of the 1950s and 60s. Gardner is a much more common surname spelling, associated with screen legend Ava, mystery writer Erle Stanley and art collector and patron Isabella Stewart, founder of Boston's Gardner Museum.

This tree name could be one of those fresh, cool nature names for winter babies, though we can only imagine the kind of jokes that will fly in junior high.

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

Also a city near Tel Aviv, Hadar is a name found primarily in Israel. There is also a citrus fruit associated with the holiday of Sukkat the Torah calls the "hadar fruit".

A strong, meaningful name, associated with a famous Cherokee linguistic scholar; also suggests the magnificent California sequoia redwood trees.

A tough and rugged nature name.

A red spice made from dried bell peppers.

As a name, notable bearers include Danish actress Paprika Steen (born Kirsteen), and Paprika from the children's TV show Blue's Clues

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

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.

Common California place-name that could work for a girl.

A popular nature name in Turkey, where it was in the Top 10 from 2005-2013. Spelt Yağmur in Turkish.

This spice name is typically used for girls, but we see no reason it couldn't join the growing list of gender-neutral nature names.

New Zealand writer Ngaio (born Edith Ngaio) Marsh is the best-known bearer of this Maori nature name, properly pronounced ng (like the end of sing) -EYE-oh. It is the name of a tree indigenous to New Zealand, also called the Mousehole Tree.

An attractive update to Gladys.

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

For the parent who genuinely wants something different, this nature choice is popular in Spain. Downside: connection to words irate and irritation.

This name of the mythological mother of Achilles might suffer from its rhyming association to the word fetus.