Dryad Names

The name Kiri was made famous by New Zealand soprano Kiri Te Kanawa, whose original name was Claire. Cute but slight, Kiri is close to several other names from Kiriah to Keira to Kyra and its diminutive Kyrie.

Laurel takes Laura back to its meaning in nature, resulting in a gentle, botanical option. Even more directly than Laura, Laurel relates back to the laurel wreath signifying success and peace in ancient Greece and Rome.

This pretty, succinct Arabic name is also commonly used as a nickname for names like Carolina.

Though this name of a sturdy tree that can live for centuries was quite popular for boys in the first half of the twentieth century, at this point in time we can see Linden as a fresh-sounding possibility for a little girl named to honor an Aunt Linda. Early pagans and Christians embraced the Linden as a holy tree, thought to aid healing and often planted near churches. The Linden is the mythological symbol of truth, peace, and justice; court cases and marriage ceremonies were often held beneath Linden trees. The Linden tree is associated with the goddess Freya.

Maple is one of those sweet-spot word names that sounds so almost name-like that it doesn't feel outlandish or strange, despite its relative newness as a given name. Just as Juniper is adjacent to June or Pippa, Clover like Chloe or Clara and Ember like Emma or Ebba, Maple is enough like Mabel, Maisie and Mae that it blends in well and has a touch of borrowed vintage charm.

This is a rich, melodic shortening of the popular girls' name Amelia that can stand on its own. There are several figures in Greek myth named Melia, most notably a daughter of Oceanus. The Meliae are nymphs associated with trees.

Long in our category of so-far-out-it-will-always-be-out category, once seen as a gum-cracking 1940's telephone operator, we think it's time to reassess Myrtle, and look at is as a nature name, a plant with pink or white aromatic berries. Ruled by Venus, myrtle is a plant associated with love, peace, fertility and youth.

Ten times as many boys are named Oak as girls: about 50 boys last year to five girls. Of course, nature names don't have any traditional gender identification the way names like John and Mary do, so Oak works well for all babies. Oakley is the most popular Oak name for babies of all genders.

Oakley, with its nature name roots and its Annie Oakley charm, is a hot name for both genders but more than twice as popular for girls. This name made it into the Top 1000 for the first time in 2013, one of only four girl names starting with O to rank that high. A decade letter, it's aiming for the Top 100.

Though greatly overshadowed by the trendy Olivia, Olive has a quiet, subtle appeal of its own -- and is now enjoying a remarkable comeback. Olive is one of only four girl names starting with O on the US Top 1000. Cool couple Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen chose it for their daughter, reviving the name to stylishness, and now Drew Barrymore has a little Olive too, as has country singer Jake Owen.

Like many a popular name, Ornella is a theatrical creation. Italian playwright Gabriele d'Annunzio created this name for his dramatic heroine in the 1904 play La Figlia di Iorio. Ornella is a feminization of the orno or ornello, which is the Italian word for the Fraxinus Ornus, a type of tree which produces such sweet sap that it was compared to biblical manna.

This name of the Roman goddess of fruit trees is also associated with a suburban town in Southern California.