Nature Inspired Gender-Neutral Names

Bird name possibility, rarer than Lark and Wren but with the same short, punchy feel.

Gale for boys is more a storm name than a short form of Abigail. Since Gale has resurfaced as the name of Liam Hemsworth's daring character in The Hunger Games, it has new force for boys.

When Gail was popular, half a century ago, Gale was a plausible choice. Gale does put a slightly more masculine spin on the name, but it's dated in any version.

Glenn appealed to a lot of post-World War II parents for its cool, leafy image, also calling up the Big Band sounds of Glenn Miller and the calm, composed image of actor Glenn Ford, whose name at birth was the Welsh Gwyllyn. It could possible be in line for a comeback in the more nature-evoking spelling of Glen, as used by Glen Campbell, or possibly even the Welsh Glyn.

While actress Glenn Close didn't inspire many parents to give their daughters her name in particular, she did help launch a general trend toward boy names for girls.

Griffin is one of the newer and most appealing of the two-syllable Celtic surnames. In English, griffin is the name of a mythological creature, half eagle, half lion. It re-entered the list in 1983 after an absence of 75+ years.

Most things Jul-related – from the month of July to popular modern names Julia and Julian – originate with Roman emperor Julius Caesar, and the month name July is no exception. Fifteen girls and seven boys were named July in 2013, putting this month name into the class of gender neutral names.

Most things Jul-related – from the month of July to popular modern names Julia and Julian – originate with Roman emperor Julius Caesar, and the month name July is no exception. Fifteen girls and seven boys were named July in 2013, putting this month name into the class of gender neutral names.

Leaf is a hippieish choice that, for girls, still retains an evergreen quality.

The nature boy version of the Scandinavian Leif, which actually means "heir". In the creative-naming Phoenix family, Leaf is the former name of the actor we know as Joaquin.

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.

If Apple and Juniper, Oak and Pine can be baby names, why not Maple? Why not indeed. We've heard Maple starting to be used quietly, but with its lush sound and attractive image, we predict its use as a first name will grow — and its choice by the Jason Batemans — who combined it with the sweet middle name Sylvie — will only accelerate that growth.

Men may be from Mars, but now that not one but two celebrities -- singer Erykah Badu and Workaholics star Blake Anderson -- have named their daughters Mars, we have to add it to the girls' roster. It fits right in with the other mythological names gaining in popularity today.