Unique Nature Names

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

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.

Obsolete Swanhild gives way to oh-so-modern Swan, joining the flock of newly fashionable bird names such as Wren and Lark. In France, the Swann spelling is fashionable for both sexes. But Swan carries an image of grace, though perhaps also a bit of languor. It's a lovely and original name, right for our times.

A rare, free-feeling flower name for the parent who wants to move far, far beyond Rose and Daisy. Named for German physician Friedrich Freese.

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.

In the garden of herb names, Rosemary and Basil are perennials and Sage is a new upshoot, but Fennel is a real rarity. The aniseed-tasting plant, used to add flavor to dishes around the world, gets its name from the Latin word feniculum, meaning "little hay".

Soft and mellifluous nature-surname name, situated miles away from the dated Marshall.

More unusual than Forest or Forrest, Field is a nature name that is simple, evocative, and fresh--sort of the male equivalent of Meadow.

Field and Fields are both relatively common surnames, noted bearers including department store owner Marshall Field, poet Eugene Field (Wynken, Blynken and Nod) and actress Sally. Those with the plural include W.C. Fields, cookie company founder Debbi, and entertainers Gracie and Kim Fields.

Gwyneth Paltrow's Apple has opened the world of botanical names beyond flowers to trees, herbs, fruits, and — why not — nuts. Cayley and Brandon Jenner have a daughter named Joan Almond.

If you find Grover too fusty and furry, this is a much cooler-sounding alternative.

The addax is a white antelope that resides in the Sahara Desert. A cool and usable addition to the pool of animal baby names.

Chrysalis is a girls' baby name derived from the state of a butterfly or moth between larva and adult. A chrysalis is a hard-shelled pupa in which the transition of the butterfly or moth takes place. As a baby name, Chrysalis came to the fore as the rumored name of the baby girl of Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott, who reportedly love butterflies. Chrysalis does certainly have potential as a new word name or nature name for babies, with the simple familiar nickname Chrys.

Delphinium is the proper name for larkspur. It's also related to names like Delphine, which are connected to dolphins (the flowers were thought to resemble a dolphin's back).

Reddish dye that sounds as if it could be a real name — of the outdated, Old World, Yetta-Hedda variety.

Grrrr.

This name of a showy, lemony plant makes an unusual entry into the name garden.

This yellow harbinger spring bloom was named for Scottish botanist William Forsyth, and is even more unusual than such species as Acacia and Azalea.

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.