Nature Names: For the apple of your eye
By Brooke Cussans of Baby Name Pondering
Gwyneth Paltrow probably had no idea how much controversy she was about to cause when she named her daughter Apple back in May of 2004. “That’s not a name” was the most common judgement on people’s lips, and her daughter’s name is now held up as an example on all “Most Bizarre Celebrity Baby Names” lists.
So why did Gwyneth and her husband, Coldplay front man Chris Martin, choose the name Apple? To paraphrase from her interview with Oprah Winfrey at the time, they felt that “apples are sweet, wholesome, biblical and lovely.” They also proposed the question “Is it really so different from the other nature/ noun names out there that are commonly used, such as Rose, Lily or Ivy?”
It’s a little hard to argue with such logic these days, considering the many word names on the rise. Yes, an apple is a fruit, but people mustn’t dislike fruit names that much, since we’re now seeing Plum and Lemon regularly discussed as possible names, albeit usually as middles or nicknames.
If you’re going to be inspired by an object, let’s face it, the humble apple isn’t the worst nature name out there. So here is a collection of apple-inspired options for you if you too love the imagery of the clean, fresh, sweet apple but don’t want people thinking you’ve copied a weird celebrity baby name. Most are varieties, and others are simply apple related.
Girls
Almata
Fearn
Junami
Lodi
Manzana
Melrose
Meridian
Novaspy
Pinova
Poma
Rubinette
Sansa
Boys
Ashmead
Braeburn
Calville
Coster
Creston
Epal
Epli
Falstaff
Jonwin
Laxton
Nehou
Orchard
Pendragon
Pomon
What do you think? Are apple-inspired names too sweet for your taste, or nicely refreshing?
Brooke Cussans – better known on the Namberry forums as bluejuniper – is based in Melbourne, Australia and is the author of name blog Baby Name Pondering. She especially loves rare and unusual names.