Nature names from the botanical world, including flower names like Daisy and Lily and tree names such as Maple and even spice and fruit names such as Sage and Plum, have become both more visible and more fashionable over the past handful of years.

But there’s another group of nature names that hint at their earthly roots rather than state them so plainly, a secret garden of baby names that reference plants and flowers in their original meanings.  One of the best things about these names is that they’re more even-handed than many botanical names in their gender identity, with several excellent masculine choices plus others that work equally well for boys or girls.

If you love nature names but also value subtlety, one of these secret garden names may be right for you.

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Nature names — our topic in honor of Earth Day — today usually come right out and announce themselves.  Popular categories of nature names include flower names — Daisy, Lily; tree names — Oak, Acacia; animal names — Fox, Wren; and water names — Bay, Lake.

And then there are those nature names that are not obviously nature names but on the surface seem more like surnames or place names or even, stunningly, actual name names.  What makes them nature names is their root meaning, a factor that sometimes gets lost in the more contemporary associations of a name.

Parents in search of a name that connotes sun or star, land or water without being too blatant about it might want to consider one of these lovely secret nature names.  We picked a selection suiting varied tastes for girls, boys, and either.   And there are hundreds more to be found by searching for nature names on nameberry’s supersearch page.

girls

• Araceli, “altar of the sky”
• Bronte, “thunder”
• Bryn, “hill”
• Cordelia, “daughter of the sea”
• Crisanta, “chrysanthemum”

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