All the Botanical Girls

Fresh and fragrant nature name more apt to be used for a boy.

A botanical name belonging to a small yellow flower in the poppy family. The word ultimately derives from chelidon, the Ancient Greek for "swallow (bird)".

With other fruity names like Clementine, Olive and Plum ripe for the picking, sweet Cherry remains remarkably underused: just 27 baby girls received the name in 2017, down from 343 at its peak in 1948. The unsavory slang meaning no doubt goes a long way towards explaining its fall from grace.

One of the rarest of the flower names, that of the blossom celebrated in Japan as a symbol of the sun and a possible object of meditation. One of the rare flower names counted among names for autumn babies, Chrysanthemum is also one of the most unusual nature-themed girl names starting with C.

Clementine is a Nameberry favorite that broke back into the US Top 1000 in 2014 after more than half a century off the list.

Clove is a spice name that is a tad more piquant than Saffron or Cinnamon. It might get more attention now as a member of The Hunger Games family of names.

Clover is a charming, perky choice if you want to move beyond hothouse blooms like Rose and Lily, and it's recently become a new celeb favorite, chosen by both Neal McDonough and Natasha Gregson Wagner, who used it to honor her mother, Natalie Wood, one of whose most iconic films was Inside Daisy Clover.

Lovely entry into the tree name genre, joining Juniper, Oak, and Willow.

Yes, though it seems so extreme, girls were actually sometimes given this name a century ago; now it is so uncommon it would make a strong springtime statement. Biggest obstacle: the nickname Daffy.

One of the flower names, used occasionally in Britain (where it's pronounced DAY-lee-a). It seems to have recovered from what was perceived as a slightly affected la-di-dah air. The flower was named in honor of the pioneering Swedish botanist Andreas Dahl, which means dale.

Daisy, fresh, wholesome, and energetic, is one of the flower names that burst back into bloom after a century's hibernation. Originally a nickname for Margaret (the French Marguerite is the word for the flower), Daisy comes from the phrase "day's eye," because it opens its petals at daybreak.

The bright yellow weed lends itself to a creative baby name, although we don't recommend the nickname Dandy.

An attractive and now underused nature name belonging to a tree whose wood is prized for its dark color and dense texture, which shines when polished. Ebony joined the most popular girl names list in the US in the early 1970s, peaked in 1982 at #132, and dropped back below the Top 1000 in 2006.

Edelweiss, made famous by the Rogers and Hammerstein song in "The Sound of Music", is a rare female name.

For tree huggers.

Word name possibility carrying the scent of licorice-like anise. Fennel gets its own name from the Latin word feniculum, meaning "little hay".

Of all the botanicals, Fern has been one of the slowest to move back from the front parlor into the nursery, despite the appealing girl character in the children's classic Charlotte's Web. Fern was most popular from the turn of the last century through the 1940s, reaching a high of #152 in 1916. We can certainly see her rejoining the long list of popular greenery names.

A rare flower name that works as well for boys as it does for girls, so named because of its resemblance to a small glove.

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.

More uncommon and powerful than garden varieties like Rose and Lily. Named for Scottish botanist Dr Alexander Garden.