50 Nature Baby Names

As new parents leave behind the traditional names of the past in favor of more modern, unique names, there has been some handwringing about the possible effects of unusual names. Are there actual psychological benefits for children who grow up with such names?

"Parents are pushing the envelope in lots of ways in terms of choosing names that will be different,” says Pamela Redmond Satran, author of The Baby Name Bible. “They’re looking for names that their child won’t share with anyone else.”

One of the most beautiful ways to give your child a unique name is to be inspired by nature. Many nature names are new and rare, while others have actually been used for centuries.

"A unique name," Satran told Yahoo Parenting, "is part of a whole package that parents pass on to their child. It symbolizes their hopes and dreams for their kids. So if you want your child to stand out from the crowd, be independent, and a real individual, a unique name is one way to show him that you value those qualities.” 

To seek inspiration for a nature baby name, look at the world around you. Or find something on this list that is just what you were looking for. Many nature names are used for both boys and girls.

Popular Nature Baby Names 

Learn more about the meanings, origin, and popularity of 50 nature-inspired baby names.

Amber

• Origin: English
• Meaning: The amber gemstone or its orange/red color
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Ambre, Ambra
• Famous Namesakes: Amber Valletta (model), Amber Heard (actor)
• Peak Popularity: 1986

Autumn

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Fall season
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Autum
• Famous Namesakes: Autumn Reeser (actor)
• Peak Popularity: 2013

Ava

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Like a bird
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Aiva, Avah
• Famous Namesakes: Ava Gardner (actor), Avora DuVernay (director), Ava Helen Pauling (civil rights activist), Saint Ava (9th century Roman Catholic nun)
• Peak Popularity: 2020

Azalea

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Dry flower
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Azealia
• Famous Namesakes: Iggy Azalea and Azealia Banks (recording artists)
• Peak Popularity: 2020

Blossom

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Flower, bloom
• Famous Namesakes: Blossom Seeley (jazz singer), Blossom Russo (fictional TV character)
• Peak Popularity: 1925

Brooke

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Small stream
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Brook, Brooks
• Famous Namesakes: Brooke Shields (model/actor), Brooke Adams (actor/producer), Brooke Hogan (musical artist)
• Peak Popularity: 2003

Camelia

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Young, virginal
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Camylia, Camellia, Camila, Camilla
• Famous Namesakes: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (British royal family member), Camila Cabello (recording artist)
• Peak Popularity: 2020 (Camila and Camilla)

Cassia

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Cinnamon
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Kassia, Caissa
• Famous Namesakes: Kassia (medieval female composer/poet)
• Peak Popularity: Rare

Chanel

• Origin: French
• Meaning: Canal
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Shanelle, Chanelle
• Famous Namesakes: Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel (fashion designer), Chanel West Coast (television personality on MTV’s Ridiculousness)
• Peak Popularity: 1991

Crystal

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Brilliant glass
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Cristal, Krystle
• Famous Namesakes: Crystal Gayle (singer), Crystal Method (electronic rock group)
• Peak Popularity: 1982

Daisy

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Daisy flower
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Deisy, Dazy, Daisie
• Famous Namesakes: Daisy Fuentes and Daisy Ridley (actors), Daisy Bates (civil rights leader)
• Peak Popularity: 1900

Dale

• Origin: German
• Meaning: Valley
• Famous Namesakes: Dale Carnegie (writer), Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (race car drivers), Dale Evans (singer/songwriter/actor/wife of Roy Rogers)
• Peak Popularity: 1958 (for boys named Dale), 1952 (for girls)

Drake

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Dragon
• Famous Namesakes: Drake Bell (actor/singer), Drake (recording artist)
• Peak Popularity: 2010

Ebony

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Dark black-wooded tree
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Eboni
• Famous Namesakes: Ebony Obsidian (actor), Ebony Hoffman (basketball player)
• Peak Popularity: 1982

Forest

• Origin: English
• Meaning: From the woods
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Forrest
• Famous Namesakes: Forest Whitaker (actor/producer/director), Forrest Gump (fictional movie character)
• Peak Popularity: 1904

Ginger

• Origin: English
• Meaning: The ginger spice or its reddish-orange color
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Jinger
• Famous Namesakes: Ginger Spice (member of musical group Spice Girls), Ginger Rogers (actor/dancer)
• Peak Popularity: 1971

Hazel

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Hazel tree
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Haizel, Hazelle
• Famous Namesakes: Hazel Mae Clark (athlete), Hazel Blears (British politician), Hazel Mae Gagulada (Canadian sportscaster)
• Peak Popularity: 1907

Heather

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Heather plant
• Famous Namesakes: Heather Locklear and Heather Graham (actors)
• Peak Popularity: 1975

Holly

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Plant with red berries
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Holli, Hollie, Hollye, Holley
• Famous Namesakes: Holly Hunter (actor), Holly Madison (reality-TV star), Holly Golightly (fictional character in Breakfast at Tiffany's)
• Peak Popularity: 1983

Huckleberry

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Sweet berry
• Famous Namesakes: Huckleberry 'Huck' Finn (fictional character).
• Peak Popularity: Rare

Inna

• Origin: Russian
• Meaning: Rough stream
• Famous Namesakes: Inna (musical artist)
• Peak Popularity: Rare

Ivy

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Climbing vine plant
• Famous Namesakes: Ivy Queen (recording artist), Poison Ivy (fictional DC Comics character)
• Peak Popularity: 2020

Jade

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Green gemstone
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Jayde, Jadessa
• Peak Popularity: 2002
  

Jasmine

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Jasmine flower
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Yasmine, Jazmine
• Famous Namesakes: Yasmine Bleeth (actor)
• Peak Popularity: 1997

Kai

• Origin: Hawaiian
• Meaning: Sea
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Cai, Chi, Ky
• Famous Namesakes: Kai Ryssdal, radio host
• Peak Popularity: 2020
  

Leilani

• Origin: Hawaiian
• Meaning: Heavenly flower
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Lelani
• Peak Popularity: 2020

Lilac

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Blueish purple flower
• Peak Popularity: Rare

Mavis

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Song thrush (a type of bird)
• Famous Namesakes: Mavis Staples (musical artist), Mavis Nicholson Leno (political activist)
• Peak Popularity: 1927

Meadow

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Field of grass
• Famous Namesakes: Meadow Soprano (fictional TV character in "The Sopranos")
• Peak Popularity: 2020

Morgan

• Origin: Welsh
• Meaning: Sea circle
• Famous Namesakes: Morgan Freeman and Morgan Fairchild (actors)
• Peak Popularity: 1995 (for the male version of the name), 1997 (for the female version of the name)

Pearl

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Smooth, round bead formed by a mollusk
• Famous Namesakes: Pearl Buck (author/foreign adoption advocate), Pearl Bailey (actor/singer)
• Peak Popularity: 1900

Penelope

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: A type of duck
• Famous Namesakes: Penelope Cruz and Penelope Ann Miller (actors), Penelope (fictional wife of Greek mythical hero, Odysseus), Penelope Spheeris (director), Penelope Heyns (Olympic swimmer)
• Peak Popularity: 2019

Phoenix

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: An immortal bird
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Pheonix
• Famous Namesakes: River Phoenix and Joaquin Phoenix (actors), Phoenix (fictional villain in X-Men)
• Peak Popularity: 2020 for both males and females

Raven

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Blackbird
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Raviyn, Ravyn, Raevyn
• Famous Namesakes: Raven-Symone (actor/singer), Raven Goodwin (actor)
• Peak Popularity: 1993

Robin

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Reddish breasted thrush
• Famous Namesakes: Robin Williams (actor), Robin Gibb (musician, member of the Bee Gees), Robin Wright (actor), Robin Roberts (journalist)
• Peak Popularity: 1956 (for the male version of the name), 1963 (for the female version of the name)

Rose

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Rose flower
• Famous Namesakes: Rose Kennedy (mother of U.S. president John F. Kennedy), Rose Byrne (actor)
• Peak Popularity: 1913

Ruby

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Red gemstone
• Famous Namesakes: Ruby Dee (actor), Ruby Bridges (activist, first African-American child to desegregate an all-white elementary school in Louisiana)
• Peak Popularity: 1911

Sage

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Sage herb
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Saige, Sayge
• Famous Namesakes: Sage (WWE wrestler)
• Peak Popularity: 2018 (for the male version of the name), 2020 (for the female version of the name)

Sierra

• Origin: Spanish
• Meaning: Saw, from the mountains
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Siera, Syera, Sierrah
• Famous Namesakes: Sierra McCormick and Sierra McClain (actors)
• Peak Popularity: 1999

Sky

• Origin: Old Norse
• Meaning: Heaven, cloud
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Skye, Skyy, Skai
• Famous Namesakes: Sky Ferreira (recording artist)
• Peak Popularity: 2014

Snow

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Frozen rain, snow
• Famous Namesakes: Phoebe Snow (singer), Snow White (animated Disney character)
• Peak Popularity: Rare

Star

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Star
• Famous Namesakes: Star Jones (talk show host/attorney)
• Peak Popularity: 1980

Storm

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Weather event
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Stormy, Stormi
• Famous Namesakes: Storm (fictional superhero character in X-Men)
• Peak Popularity: 1995

Summer

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Summer season
• Famous Namesakes: Summer Sanders (TV host)
• Peak Popularity: 1977

Sunshine

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Sunshine
• Peak Popularity: 1975

Sylvester

• Origin: English
• Meaning: From the forest
• Famous Namesakes: Sylvester Stallone (actor)
• Peak Popularity: 1901

Tempest

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Stormy
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Tempestt
• Famous Namesakes: Tempestt Bledsoe (actor)
• Peak Popularity: Rare

Violet

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Purple/blue flower
• Peak Popularity: 2019

Wesley

• Origin: English
• Meaning: From the west field
• Alternative Spellings & Variations: Westley
• Famous Namesakes: Wesley Snipes (actor)
• Peak Popularity: 1977

Willow

• Origin: English
• Meaning: From the willow grove
• Famous Namesakes: Willow Smith (recording artist)
• Peak Popularity: 2019