Most Africas today would be named for the continent, but the name actually existed in Scotland in medieval times, where there was a Celtic queen named Affrica. Africa has also been a Spanish name for girls since 1421. The church of the Virgin "Nuestra Senora de Africa" is in Ceuta, the Spanish city she is Patron of, in North Africa.
 There have been several other theories as to the origin of the name. Some believe it refers to the name of the ancient Berber people who inhabited North Africa, others believe Africa means "greyish" in reference to the color of sand, and yet another theory is that it is a Phoenician word meaning "colony," as Africa was once a colony of the Roman Empire. To complicate matters further, spelled Affrica, it is also used in Spanish-speaking countries, meaning "pleasant."
 Africa has been a recorded name in the U.S. since the eighteenth century.

Africa

State name Alaska stems from an Aleutian word for the land mass itself. The number of baby girls named Alaska has doubled in the past five years, and is sure to continue increasing as more place names are annexed as <a href="https://nameberry.com">baby names</a>. Wilder but as habitable as Dakota or Cheyenne, Alaska is a <a href="https://nameberry.com/girl-names">girls' name</a> choice for the future.

Alaska

Amity--what nicer gift to give your little girl than a name that signifies friendship and harmony? This virtue name is also more rhythmic and feminine than the single-syllable Hope, Faith, and Grace. 
 Amity is a neglected gem that could make a distinctive namesake for an Aunt Amy.

Amity

This still attractive place name was one of the first to gain popularity, though it now probably owes some of its favor to the similar Aisha. Asia ranked as high as Number 195 on the US <a href="https://nameberry.com/">baby names</a> popularity list in 1997. 
 In Greek myth, Asia is the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys and mother of, among others, Atlas and Prometheus.
 One of the best known modern bearers of the name is Italian actress, singer, and director Asia Argento, who is probably responsible for its popularity in Italy, where it ranks Number 35. Asia Monet Ray is a dancer featured on the hit television shows Dance Moms and Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition.

Asia

Brighton has long been known as a holiday resort town on the south coast of England. A cheery unisex name, it was used for his daughter by Jon Favreau, but was a boy on the TV show The Nanny.

Brighton

Although this name literally means disaster, the use of Calamity as a descriptor of Martha Jane Cannery, aka Calamity Jane, was meant to signal that she was a good person to have in troubled times. Calamity Jane was well regarded as a frontierswoman and nurse, someone who was said to be extremely generous and compassionate to the sick and troubled.. Calamity's connection to the American West gives this a roguish name a sort of windswept charm about it. Indeed, the most controversial aspect of this name is its connection to the frontier wars that led to the dispossession of Native American peoples. 
Controversy aside, you really don't want to name your daughter Calamity. There are plenty of other uncommon <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/girls-names/c">girl names starting with C</a> that don't sound like jokes.

Calamity

Light and delicate musical name would make an unusual choice.

Cantata

One of the original so-weird-it's-cruel <a href="https://nameberry.com/fameberry">celebrity baby names</a> doesn't sound quite so impossible with the resurgence of virtue names. But be charitable and choose Charity instead. Variations: Chasa Dee, Chasadie, Chasady, Chasaty, Chasidee, Chasidey, Chasidie, Chasidy, Chasiti, Chasitie, Chasitti, Chasity, Chassedi, Chassidi, Chassidy, Chassiti, Chassity, Chassy, Chasta, Chastady, Chastidy, Chastin, Chastitee, Chastitie, Chastitey, Chastney, Chasty, Chasydi.

Chastity

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.

Cherry

Clementine is a Nameberry favorite that broke back into the US Top 1000 in 2014 after more than half a century off the list. 
 A female variation of the more-unusual Clement, Clementine's meaning suggests peace and happiness, a lovely image. Other girls' names with similar meanings include Beatrice, Felicity, Hilary, Arcadia, Irina, and Mercy.
 If "Oh, My Darlin'" still rings too loudly in your ears, consider pronouncing Clementine as Clementeen—or even using Clementina, which rhymes with Christina. Stylish Claudia Schiffer chose Clementine for her daughter, as did Ethan Hawke and Rachel Griffiths. 
 Kate Winslet played a character named Clementine in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And for a kid reference—there's a Muppet named Clementine.

Clementine

Feather, though it was used for a character in a Walter Mosley novel, seems too light and fluttery for a real-life girl. 

Feather

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

Bird name possibility, rarer than Lark and Wren but with the same short, punchy feel.

Only five baby girls were named Finch in the most recent year, and four times as many baby boys.

Finch

It feels like Finch should be a modern bird name that's as popular as Wren or Lark, but that's not the case - so it's one to consider if you're looking for a nature name that's familiar but rare. 

These colorful birds have made big contributions to science: the Galápagos finch played an important role in forming Darwin's theory of evolution, and the zebra finch has helped our understanding of how birds learn songs. 

Finch is also a surname belonging to, amongst other admirable people, the family in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Fox is one animal name backed by a longish tradition, and then popularized via the lead character Fox Mulder on X Files. Fox is simple, sleek, and a little bit wild, and could make an interesting middle name.
 It was reported that the TV character's first name was not a tribute to the Fox network which aired The X-Files, as often assumed; show creator Chris Carter said he had a childhood friend named Fox. Fox was one of the fastest-rising boys' names of 2016, perhaps because of the popularity of the X-Files revival.

Originally a unisex nickname for a redhead -- red hair is called "ginger" in Britain -- or for the name Virginia, Ginger perennially wears pink gingham and spike heels. 

Ginger

This flower name was one of the most popular in her class in the seventies and eighties (in the 1989 movie Heathers, every snobby girl in the high school clique bore that name). Now, though still pretty and evocative of the Scottish moors, it has faded in favor of other purplish blooms, having fallen out of the Top 1000 after having been as high as Number 3 in 1975, when it was given to close to 25,000 girls.

Heather

Can a name as virtuous as Hope be cool and trendy? Strangely enough -- yes. But though this optimistic Puritan favorite is experiencing substantial popularity, Hope is too pure and elegant to be corrupted, a lovely classic that deserves all the attention it's getting. 
 Hope, along with Faith and Charity, is one of the three theological virtues, first used as a Christian name in the seventeenth century by the Puritans. Hope and Faith have often been given to twins.
 There have been characters named Hope on four different soap operas. The TV show Raising Hope was about, yes, raising a child named Hope--formerly named Princess Beyonce. Brad Garrett has a daughter named Hope.

Hope

Euphonious and long stylish in England, India was one of the fastest-rising names on the 2013 list, after jumping 240 spots back into the Top 1000.
 
Gorgeous as it may be, the usage of India as a name has distinctly imperial roots, making it a loaded (and ill-advised) choice for someone without Indian heritage.
 
India was a character in Gone with the Wind, the sister of Ashley Wilkes, and more recently was picked for the daughters of singer Sarah McLachlan, actress Heather Thomas, and Avenger Chris Hemsworth.
 
India Hicks is a high-profile ex-model with ties to the royal family, and the mother of a girl called Domino. Singer India.Arie was born India Arie — without the period.

India

Joy is from an older generation of word names, which also included Merry, Bliss, and Glory -- all of which exert a certain amount of personality pressure on a child. One interesting name that means the same thing: Chara.
 Joy began to be used as a name by the seventeenth century Puritans, with the idea of "being joyful in the Lord." It came into more general use in the late nineteenth central, part of the revival of virtue names. Her high point was in 1974, when she reached Number 109 on the <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular-names">popular names</a> charts. Joy has also been often used as a middle name. Two recent bearers: comedian/TV personality Joy Behar and Joy Mangano, the inventor whose life was the basis of Oscar-nominated biopic Joy, starring Jennifer Lawrence.

Karioka

In the US, London is popular for both sexes, though as the name rises for girls, it's levelled off for boys. Of course, London is far less popular in  the UK and other English-speaking countries.

London

A melodious choice big in the sixties, Melody is now starting to pick up tempo again. It cracked the Top 150 for the first time ever in 2015. Melody is also the name of Ariel's equally curious and more tom-boyish daughter in The Little Mermaid sequel. Read more about Melody and other <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/disney-princess-names">Disney Princess Names</a> in our featured blog.

Melody

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 <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/girls-names/o">girl names starting with O</a> 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. 
Olive has positive associations to the olive branch as a symbol of peace and the ancient olive wreath that celebrated success.
 Olive was the name of the adorable Abigail Breslin character in the popular movie Little Miss Sunshine. Olive Chancellor is a major character in Henry James's The Bostonians and Olive Kitteridge is a Pulitzer Prize-winning Elizabeth Strout novel that was adapted into a TV miniseries in 2014. Kids might be familiar with Olive the Other Reindeer.
 Olive came into fashion at the end of the nineteenth century along with other botanical names, when it had a run in the Top 100.

Olive

Piper is a bright, musical name that entered the list in 1999, one year after the debut of the TV series Charmed, which featured a Piper, and it's been a consistent riser since. Piper Kerman is the memoirist whose prison experiences provided the basis for the hit Netflix series Orange is the New Black.
 Piper has been chosen by several celebs for their daughters, including Gillian Anderson and Cuba Gooding, Jr., and is now one of the top <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/girls-names/p">girls' names starting with P</a>.
 One of the first Pipers on the scene was Piper Laurie (born Rosetta), after whom actress Piper Perabo was named.

Piper

Among a small shower of rain-related names, this pure version can have a cool, refreshing image. 
 Richard Pryor named his now-grown daughter Rain, and Rain is also one of the nature-named Phoenix family siblings. More recently, 24 actress Marisol Nichols named her daughter Rain India.
 Rain also makes a nice nature middle name--Brooke Burke called her daughter Heaven Rain.
 If you want to embellish this simply spelling (and alter the meaning), you might also consider Raine, Raina, Rainn, Rayne, Reine or Reign, the middle name of Willow Smith. Or you could take the Holly Madison route all the way to Rainbow.

Rain

Bird name Raven, once a symbol of pride for both African-American and Wiccan parents, is finding new life as a superhero name. Raven Darkholme is the real name of Mystique, heroine of the X-Men films played by Jennifer Lawrence. And there is another Raven superheroine in Teen Titans. Some parents may still choose Raven to signal black pride or mystical powers or maybe even Edgar Allan Poe fandom, but we are guessing most inspiration is coming from the comics.

Raven

Sounded bright and chirpy in the fifties and ranked in the Top 100 until 1980, but by now Robin has lost traction. Robin is, however, having something of a style comeback for boys.

Robin

Referring to the Scottish Isle of Skye, this spelling brings Sky down to earth. Skye is used ten times more often for girls than boys, while the gender split on the Sky spelling is more like three to one in favor of the female side.

Skye

The e-addition takes the name from slightly hippie-ish nature name to the place name of a picturesque island off the coast of Scotland, and for baby namers it's by far the more popular spelling. 
 Skye entered the girls' list in 1987, a year after the introduction of Skye Chandler, a popular character for decades on no fewer than three soaps—All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital.
 As a first name, Skye is a sleek gender-neutral choice, used for ten times as many girls as boys. It makes a lovely middle-name choice.

Thistle

If you love Puritan virtue names and want to move beyond Hope and Faith and Grace, this is a wonderful choice, both for its meaning and its sound. A rare find here, though occasionally heard in England. It was used in Winston Graham's Poldark novels, was Madonna's name as James Bond's fencing instructor in Die Another Day, and made a brief appearance in Harry Potter. Not to mention being a fixture on British and Australian soaps. Verity also appears in one of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple mysteries.
 We love the newer sounding three-syllable, 'y'-ending virtue names, and Verity is one of the best.

Verity

An ancient tree that figures in literature from Shakespeare to Harry Potter and is believed to possess magical powers, Willow is a lovely name, as graceful as its inspiration.
 Willow's use as a given name derives directly from the willow tree, whose name was derived from the Old English word welig, meaning "willow." Willow trees are associated with grace and elegance, which gave way to the adjective "willowy." Other names with meanings related to willows include Arava, Willoughby, Dozier, Wellesley, Selby, and Salton.
 
This elegant and charming nature name has been chosen for their daughters by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, Michelle Monaghan and Pink. It's been a fast riser in recent years, climbing along with other Will names Willa, William and Will, having taken off here a year after the character of Willow was introduced on Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1997.
 
Willow is also popular in other English-speaking countries: Australia and the UK, Canada, Ireland, and Scotland.
 
The name has transcended its one-time hippie aura to move into the realm of reappraised and appreciated <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/329/nature-baby-names">nature names</a>. The willow is believed by the Romani to possess the ability to heal the sick and rejuvenate the aged.
 
Pink was quoted as saying her choice was influenced by a willow tree she grew up near, and that it is the most flexible tree that nothing can break—no wind, no elements, it can bend and withstand anything.

Willow

Wren, a lilting songbird name, could be the next Robin. Wren entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2012 and is among the new wave of popular <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/501/english-names-for-girls">English names for girls</a>.
 Wren makes a particularly pleasing middle name choice, as does her newly discovered cousin Lark. But it's more popular as a middle name than you might think, the quirkier cousin of Rose.
 This petite bird was regarded in Ireland as the "magician of the birds" and the Druids considered it a bird of prophecy. Thanks to an early fable, it has also been known as King of the Birds.
 For architects there's the link to the great Sir Christopher Wren, the celebrated eighteenth century designer of London's St. Paul's Cathedral.

Wren

undefined's list "Words, places, nature" of 34 great name ideas: Africa - Wren!