One of the new color names that is catching on, invoking a calm, blue-green-sea feeling. 

Aqua

Ariel is a male Biblical name, seen there as the messenger of Ezra, and also used as a symbolic name for the city of Jerusalem, while Shakespeare used it for a (male) sprite in The Tempest.
 For girls, Ariel enjoyed a considerable burst of popularity with the 1989 release of Disney's The Little Mermaid: in 1991 it peaked at #66. 
 Although its wave has crested, Ariel is still a name any little girl would love. It is also associated with the poetry of Sylvia Plath and with the Chilean-American writer Ariel Dorfman. The popular historian Ariel Durant was born Ida Ariel Ethel.
 In Israel, Ariel is used as much or more for boys, but in the US, more than three times as many baby girls as boys are named Ariel. Read more about Ariel and other <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/disney-princess-names">Disney Princess Names</a> in our featured blog.

Ariel

Bodhi is a Sanskrit name translated as "enlightenment" or "awakening" which relates to a Buddhist concept, wherein Bodhi is synonymous with the state of nirvana, being freed from hate, greed and ego. The Bodhi tree is a large fig tree under which the founder of Buddhism received enlightenment. Spelling variations include Bodie and Bode.
 
Bodhi has recently been appearing as a baby name in the American celebrisphere, first heard via Bodhi Elfman, husband of Jenna. Since then it has been used by four celebrity couples as the first name for their sons, and celebrity chef Tom Colicchio as the middle name for his boy, Luka. Carly Simon and James Taylor have a grandson named Bodhi. And who remembers that it was the name of the Patrick Swayze character in the 1991 film "Point Break"?
 
As opposed to some other religious and <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/254/spiritual-baby-names">spiritual names</a>, Bodhi has an upbeat, friendly feel, similar to that of Brody and Cody.

Bodhi

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.
 
Reality TV stars Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald recently named a daughter Fern, which could easily give it a boost.

Fern

Finn is a name with enormous energy and charm, that of the greatest hero of Irish mythology, Finn MacCool (aka Fionn mac Cuumhaill), an intrepid warrior with mystical supernatural powers, noted as well for his wisdom and generosity. 
 Finn was chosen by cool couple Christy Turlington and Ed Burns for their son, and also by Jane Leeves and Autumn Reeser. Played by Cory Monteith prior to his death, Finn Hudson was a prominent character on Glee.
Other up-and-comers in the same family: Finlay and Finley, Finian and Finnian, Finnegan and Finnigan, and, from Germany, Fynn.

Finn

It may sound sweet smelling, but remember, it was the name of the little skunk in Bambi. Better to pick a single bloom from the bouquet, like Violet or Lily or Daisy. 

Flower

Forrest is one of the earliest appealingly sylvan, outdoorsy choices, borne by newsman Sawyer, actor Whitaker, and football Hall of Famer Gregg. Forrest Gates was a character on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
 Forrest was steadily on the US popularity list until 2003, reaching a high of Number 175 in 1913, and then received a somewhat surprising blip after the release of "Forrest Gump." It started rebounding again in 2013, when it reentered the Top 1000 as one of the fastest-rising names on the list.
 Early Forrests were named in honor of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, head of a famous cavalry force, who advised 'Git there fuster with the mostest men.'

Forrest

Gully

Jasmine was derived from the Persian word yasmin, referring to the jasmine flower. Scented oil was made from the plant, and it was used as a perfume throughout the Persian Empire. Variants include Jazmin, Yasmin, Yasmine, and Jessamine. 
 
Jasmine, a delicate and aromatic flower name, burst into popularity after the 1992 release of Disney's Aladdin, featuring Princess Jasmine—highly unusual then for an animated character. Propagating a garden of spelling variations, Jasmine remained solidly in the Top 50 until 2009, when it started to wilt.
 
Jasmine was first used as a flower name in the West around 1900, during the blossoming of floral-name fashion.
 
Michael Jordan, Martin Lawrence and Nigel Barker all have daughters named Jasmine. Jasmine has many alternate spellings. Among them: Jasmin, Jasmyn, Jasmyne, Jazmin, Jazmine, Jazmyn, and Jazmynn. Read more about Jasmine and other <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/disney-princess-names">Disney Princess Names</a> in our featured blog.

Jasmine

This body of water runs deep; the best of a group of new possibilities that includes Bay, Ocean, River, and the more established Brook. It has received attention via the actress Lake Bell. Lake would make a particularly cool and refreshing middle name, as Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady did for daughter Vivian.
 Lake is also a fairly common surname, represented by 1940's blonde femme fatale Veronica (born Constance Ockelman), actress/talk show host Ricki and Emerson, Lake & Palmer bassist Greg.

Lake

Lilly may contain one L too many for some people, though this secondary spelling of a name that's become wildly popular is still a popular choice. And the Lilly spelling does feel a bit less wispy, a bit more like a name as opposed to a mere flower, than the slender and delicate Lily. Lilly suggests the long-form Lillian, but it doesn't need to be an abbreviation for anything; Lilly can stand on its own. 
 
However, if you love the flower name but want to make it a little different, you've got to move far beyond Lilly — or Lillian, Liliane, and sisters. You might consider Susannah, which means lily, or a less expected bloom like Azalea or Lotus.

Lilly

Meadow's upward popularity trajectory certainly suggests that the name has transcended its connection to The Sopranos.. In the US, more than 750 baby girls were named Meadow last year, a number we expect to keep rising.

If it can happen to Scarlett (O'Hara) and Atticus (Finch), it can certainly happen to lovely pastoral Meadow.

Before we let go of the Sopranos connection, how perfect was it that Tony Soprano's daughter's name was Meadow, suggesting that the TV mobster was once a kinder, gentler young dad?

Meadow

The original oddball celebrity baby name, via Frank Zappa's daughter Moon Unit, who claims she's always liked it. 

Moon

Opal is on the verge of a repolishing, following other jewel names like Ruby and Pearl. A Top 100 name during the first two decades of the twentieth century, the opalescent Opal has a good chance of coming back as another O-initial option.
 The ancient Greeks believed that opals were formed from the tears of joy wept by Zeus when he defeated the titans, and that the opal bestowed prophetic powers; the Romans considered it a symbol of hope and good fortune. It was a favorite gem of Queen Victoria.
 Opal Pelis is a character in Theodore Dreiser's seminal 1925 novel An American Tragedy.
 And keeping with the O theme, Opal is the birthstone of October, making it an appropriate choice for a little girl born in that month.

Opal

Ray, still and forever, is one of the all-time hippest <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys' names</a>, with its jazzy Ray Charles biopic overtones. It's one of the coolest <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/673/middle-names">middle names</a>), but works perfectly fine as a first.
 The list of noteworthy Rays who have brought glory to their nickname name goes on forever—Bradbury, Romano, Milland (born Alfred), Liotta, and Goulding, to name just a few. Ray might still be short for Raymond or a more unusual formal name such as Rainier or Rayford, but it can also stand on its own.

River shares the tranquil feeling of all the water names, and seems to have pretty much escaped its past strong association with River Phoenix and his unfortunate fate. Actor Joaquin Phoenix named his son with actress Rooney Mara after his brother River.

River's popularity is rising for boy genders, but it's still predominantly given to baby boys. Last year nearly 3500 boys were named River vs. about 1900 baby girls.

Keri Russell and the Taylor Hansons both have sons named River, Natasha Henstridge used it as the middle name of her boy Tristan, and Jason Schwartzman pluralized it for daughter Marlowe Rivers.

River

The name Rivers combines two major trends: nature names like the popular River itself, and S-ending surname-names such as Brooks, Rhodes, and yes, Rivers.

Rivers is most notable as a first name via Weezers frontman Rivers Cuomo.

Rivers

Sebastian is an ancient martyr's name turned literary, and Little Mermaid hero—think Sebastian the Crab—that's more popular than ever, as a classic-yet-unconventional compatriot for fellow British favorites T Theodore and Oliver.
 Sebastian is derived from the Greek Sebastianos, meaning "from Sebastia." Sebastia was a city in Asia Minor—modern day Sivas, Turkey. Sebastian is a name with a substantial history, first as the third-century martyr whose sufferings were a favorite subject of medieval artists, then as the name of memorable characters in such varied works as Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and The Tempest and Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited.
 Sebastian is high on the lists in countries as widespread as Austria, Denmark, Romania, Australia and Chile. Some more down-to-earth nicknames for the relatively elaborate Sebastian not often heard in this country are Seb, Baz and Bas. 
Several celebs have chosen the sophisticated Sebastian for their sons, including James Spader, Kim Fields, Malin Akerman and Tommy Hilfiger.

Sebastian

Sky is an ambigender nature name that was first legitimized as the character of Sky Masterson in the 1950 musical Guys and Dolls, played in the film version by Marlon Brando. It's a name we appreciate for its clear, wide-open feel, less hippyish than others like Rainbow and Starlight, and makes an appealing middle name possibility.
 Sky is the name of Sophie's fiance in Mamma Mia, and there are both Power Rangers and Transformers with the name. Elizabeth Berkley used it for her son.
 It is also spelled Skye, as in the island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Plus, it's a logical nickname for the variously spelled Schuylers and Skylers.

Spiritual word names are becoming more and more popular – think Peace, Bodhi, Zen and Psalm – and Spirit is among the rarer options, given to a couple dozen baby girls each year in the US. It's the name of the horse in the kids' TV show Spirit.

Spirit

Starr today is more fashionably the plain-spoken Star or the more obscured Stella, Esther, or Estella.

Starr

Upbeat nickname-name that can't help but make you smile, along with its soundalike Sonny. Sunny Pawar, the five-year-old star of the 2016 smash-hit movie Lion, was cast from among thousands of young hopefuls after auditioning at his school in Mumbai. Sunny is often heard in India as a nickname for Sunil, Sundeep or Sunita, but it’s also bestowed as a standalone with the literal meaning of "sunny; radiant; cheerful".

Sunny

Upbeat nickname-name that can't help but make you smile. You might want to use it as a short form for a more "serious" name such as Sunniva, but Sunny is undeniably, well, sunny.

Sunshine was seen as a quintessential hippie name of the 70s, reaching as high as Number 536 in 1975. Now such names are making a bit of a retro comeback, seen, for example, as a character on Glee.

Sunshine

A spiritual word name used by actor Zoe Saldana for her son as well as more recently Nick Cannon and Alyssa Scott for their late son. Zen has been trending in recent years along with other spiritual names such as Bodhi and Zion, and recently entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2022.

4theloveofanimals's list "Nature/Spiritual/Unique/Fantasy Names" of 26 great name ideas: Aqua - Zen!