Nature Names for Boys

A Near Eastern favorite, with an agreeable, evocative sound.

About 50 baby boys wee named Oaklyn in the US last year, vs. 600 baby girls. For girls, the Oaklynn spelling is three times more popular; for boys that's reversed.

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.

Has the offbeat quality and macho feel -- like Stone and Flint -- that appeals to increasing numbers of modern parents.

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.

nature namesare in, and even fish names like Pike and Salmon are open for consideration.

One of the simplest, most down-to-earth yet evocative of the word names, which could work — especially as a middle.

Yes, nature lovers are starting to name their children after all forms of life, including fish, but consider carefully before you cast your line into these tease-infested waters.

While Oakley is remarkable even in terms of girl-boy distribution, the Oaklee spelling variation is used much more often on girls.