Acacia is an attractive, rarely used Greek flower name enhanced by its popular beginning-and-ending-with 'a'-construct, and is gradually beginning to catch on as a new member of the stylish <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/girls-names/a">girl names starting with A</a>. 
 The acacia is a shrub of the mimosa family, with clusters of showy white or yellow blossoms, which symbolizes resurrection and immortality--making the name especially appropriate for an Easter-season baby.
 Named by an early Greek botanist, the acacia is known for its fine wood and medicinal properties. It also has biblical ties, since the Ark of the Covenant was made out of Acacia wood.
 As a given name, Acacia has had some popularity in Australia, where the acacia (sometimes known there as the wattle) is a common plant and sometime national symbol.

Acacia

Ash has Southern charm plus the arboreal-nature appeal. Plus your little boy will prize Ash as the name of the hero of the Pokemon cartoons. Ash can also be a dashing short form of Asher, Ashton, or any other "Ash" name.

Divorces Aspen from its nature and ski resort associations. Aspyn first broke into the Top 1000 in 2020.

Aspyn

Like River and Lake, a cool, refreshing modern water-related choice. 

Cassiopeia, the name of a mythological mother who became a stellar constellation, is challenging but intriguing, and has all those softening Cass nicknames available. And with all names Cass-related trending, Cassiopeia may be an unusual route to a stylish name.

With the rise of other otherworldly and mythical choices, from Apollo to Jupiter to Juno, Cassiopeia may just feel more possible for mortals now than ever before in its long history.

Some sources say the meaning relates to the cassia berry or tree, and may be "cassia juice," making this a botanical as well as a mythological name.

Cassiopeia

Ember

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

Fleur is a generic, delicate flower name that emigrated into the English-speaking world when John Galsworthy bestowed it on one of the Forsytes in his celebrated saga. More recently, there was Fleur Delacour, a French witch and the Beauxbatons champion for the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter. 
 Fleur is currently in the Top 100 in Belgium and the Netherlands, home of the tulip and other fleurs.

Fleur

Flint is one of the new macho names on the rise today, part old-school tough guy, part rebel. You won't find a tougher, steelier-sounding name; it's part of a genre on the rise along with cousins Slate, Stone and Steel. 
 Flint found itself on the popularity list for a few years in 1959-60, but would prove a distinctive choice today.
 Flint has superhero overtones--there's one in "Spiderman"--aka Sandman--and Captain Flint was a Marvel comic, and Flint is both a legendary pirate and a parrot in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. But on the softer side, there's also inventor Flint Lockwood in Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

Flint

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

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.

The quirky, offbeat and energetic botanical name Ivy is enjoying a deserved revival, propelled even higher by its choice by high-profile parents Beyonce and Jay-Z for daughter Blue Ivy. Ivy is also traditionally used at Christmas, make this one of the perfect <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/577/names-for-december-babies">names for December babies</a>.
 Ivy is derived from the name of the ivy plant, which got its name from the Old English word ifig. Ancient Greeks presented an ivy wreath to newlyweds as a symbol of fidelity. In the language of flowers, Ivy signifies faithfulness.
 British novelist Ivy Compton-Burnett is a notable namesake and Ivy Baker Priest served as U.S. Secretary of Treasury. Another association is the prestigious Ivy League. 
Ivy has been a favorite of scriptwriters—she's appeared on everything from 90210 to Gossip Girl, Dollhouse to Downton Abbey, and is the name of a 1970's American Girl doll.

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 Willow. 
 
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 Juniper is the Saint of Comedy. A male St. Juniper was a follower of St. Francis of Assisi. 
 Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny author Margaret Wise Brown sometimes used the pen name of Juniper Sage. And in the Junie P. Jones kids' books, Junie's full name is Juniper Beatrice. There also have been Junipers is cartoon series (The Life and Times of Juniper Lee) and comic strips as well.
 
The name got something of a hippieish vibe via the 1969 hit Donovan song, 'Jennifer Juniper.'
 
Juniper entered the U.S. Top 1000 for the first time in 2011 and has risen to the Top 150.

Juniper

Evocative modern unisex choice brought into the spotlight by actress Lake Bell. 

Lake

Lark is getting some new and well-deserved attention as a post-Robin and Raven bird name. Although it was first recorded as a name in the 1830's, it has never appeared on the Social Security list.
 'The Lark' was used as a nickname for Cosette in Les Miserables; Lark Voorhees was a star of Saved by the Bell, and Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany used Lark as the middle name of their daughter Agnes.
 
The expression "happy as a lark" gives this songbird name a cheery image, as well as a 'lark' being a synonym for a merry time..
 Larkin is a pretty extension, as is Skylark, which is rich in cultural associations: there's the Percy Bysshe Shelley ode To a Skylark and the jazz classic Skylark written by Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael..

Lark

Lavender lags far behind sweet-smelling purple-hued sister names Violet and Lila, but is starting to get some enthusiastic attention from cutting-edge namers along with other adventurous nature names like Clementine and Marigold. 

 The flower's name derives from Latin lividus "bluish", influenced by lavō "wash" due to use of lavender in washing clothes. It has long been used in traditional medicine and in cooking for its sweet fragrance and soothing properties. But it also has a long history as a name, going back to the eighteenth century, when it was also used for boys. 

 Famous fictional namesakes include Lavender Brown, a witch character in the Harry Potter saga, and the eponymous heroine's best friend in Roald Dahl's Matilda.

Lavender

The graceful, natural image of the verdant shade tree transcends any connection with President Johnson.
 A sturdy tree that can live for centuries, Linden was actually quite a popular boys' name from the 1930s to the 1960s--as was the presidential spelling Lyndon--but has now become unisex.

Linden

The name of the Roman goddess of the moon, Luna is derived straight from the Latin word for moon, luna. Luna may be the name most likely to surprise someone from an older generation by its Top 10 status in the US and its widespread international popularity.
Often ranked as Number 1 on Nameberry's internal charts, the strong but shimmery Luna is among the Top 100 names for baby girls in a wide range of countries around the world, from France to Italy to Germany, Scandinavia to Slovenia to Spain. It's simple, easy to spell and pronounce, and remarkably diverse.
 And it's also got deeper roots than you might imagine. It was somewhat popular in the US as a baby name around the turn of the 20th century, reaching a high of Number 403 way back in 1881.

Luna's popularity is undoubtedly influenced by the Harry Potter character Luna Lovegood and several high-profile celebrity babies, notably the oldest daughter of Chrissy Teigen and John Legend. 
 Along with its celebrity connections, Luna's popularity is partially driven by its standing as a mythological name. Luna’s divine complement is Sol, the god of the Sun. In Roman art, Luna is often depicted driving a chariot.
 
Luna makes another appearance as the endearing oddball Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter series, who was central enough to the story to have Harry give his daughter Luna as a middle name, and as the True Blood teacher-shapeshifter character, Luna Garza. 
 
Along with Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, other celebrities who named their daughters Luna include Penelope Cruz and Javier Barden as well as Constance Marie. Joely Fisher and Ellen Pompeo have used it as a middle. Uma Thurman and Arpad Busson use Luna as the nickname they call daughter Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence.
 
Luna is also among the <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular-names/dogs">most popular dog names</a>.

Luna

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

The Greek mythological hunter who was turned into a constellation is much more often used for boys. 

Orion

Worthy sibling for Oak, Elm, Juniper, and Spruce.

Pine

Poppy, unlike most floral names which are sweet and feminine, has a lot of spunk. Long popular throughout the rest of the English-speaking world, Poppy is finally starting to rise toward the top in the US, where it entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2016.

 British TV chef Jamie Oliver used the name for his eldest daughter, Poppy Honey Rosie, as did Anthony Edwards, Jessica Capshaw, and Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer. A notable adult Poppy is Australian Without a Trace star Poppy Montgomery (full name Poppy Petal Emma Elizabeth – she and her sisters are all named after flowers: Lily, Daisy, Marigold and Rosie).

 Due to the flower's bold crimson color, Poppy makes an especially good choice for a redhead. In the UK, it is a traditional <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/605/names-for-november-babies">name for November babies</a>, due to the flower's association with Remembrance Day (Nov 11), honoring the memory of members of the Armed Forces who have died in the line of duty.

 Other Poppy-like names to consider: Pippa, Piper, Posey and Petal.

Poppy

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

Rose is derived from the Latin rosa, which referred to the flower. There is also evidence to suggest it was a Norman variation of the Germanic name Hrodohaidis, meaning "famous type," and also Hros, "horse". In Old English it was translated as Roese and Rohese.
 
Rose, one of the old-time sweet-smelling flower names, has had a remarkable revival—first of all as a middle name—with parents (e.g., Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck, Jon Stewart, Eric Clapton, Ewan McGregor) finding Rose to be the perfect connective, with more color and charm than old standbys like Sue and Ann. At this point in time, though, some parents are finding there are too many roses in the middle spot of the garden.
 As a first name, Rose reached its highest point from 1896 to 1921, the early heyday of flower names, when it was in the Top 20, though it had been in use for centuries before. Rosy/Rosie is an irresistibly cheery nickname, very popular on its own in the UK. There are any number of Rose offshoots, including Rosa, Rosetta, Roseanne, Rosanna, Rosemary, Rosamund, Rosalind, Rosalie, and Rosina.
 Rose and Rosie have long been celebrated in song, and notable Roses range from Rose Kennedy to Rose Byrne, and on-screen Roses have featured in a range of films and TV shows, from Titanic to Harry Potter to Golden Girls.

Rose

Sage is an evocatively fragrant herbal name that also connotes wisdom, giving it a double advantage. It entered the Top 1000 at about the same time for both genders in the early 1990s, but it has pulled ahead for the girls. Toni Collette named her daughter Sage Florence.
 The Greeks and Romans wrote that the smoke from burned sage leaves imparted wisdom, and in the tenth century, Arab physicians said that sage brought about immortality, or at the very least, a long and healthy life.
 In Vampire Diaries, Sage is a beautiful vampire possessing super strength and speed.

Sage

Fits many criteria sought by modern parents: it's short and strong, with intimations of wisdom as well as fragrant herbal properties.  At this point, Sage is given about a third of the time to boys.



What works for Paige just doesn’t work for Sage. The added i will likely create a lifetime of spelling mistakes.
 Saige Thompson is an American actress.

Saige

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.

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 on no fewer than three soaps—All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital—for decades.
 A lovely middle-name choice.

Skye

With related choices such as Lark and Phoenix gaining popularity, why not Sparrow? Though it's usually thought of as a female name, Nicole Richie and Joel Madden chose it for their son.

Sparrow

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

aimee_names97's list "My Top Nature Names" of 32 great name ideas: Acacia - Wren!

My Top Nature Names

A list of my favourite nature-inspired names from plants, animals, flowers, space, bodies of water and more.