Juniper is a fresh-feeling nature name — it’s a small evergreen shrub — with lots of energy. A new favorite of fashionable parents, Juniper joins such other tree and shrub names as Hazel, Acacia, and Oakley.

Juniper has an interesting variety of associations — it’s mentioned in the Old Testament, was used in Renaissance paintings to represent chastity, has berries used to flavor gin, and Jupiter is the Saint of Comedy.

Characters named Juniper have featured in novels, children’s books, cartoon series and comic strips.

Juniper entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2011.