Nature, Place and Word Names · Baby Name Meanings
By Grace Royal · Updated September 2026
Across 6 pages
of 6
Variant of Phryne, Literature, Ancient Greek
"toad"
Used by Shakespeare in his play Timon of Athens , Phrynia is a Shakespearean that hasn't caught on as Ophelia, Jessica, or Imogen have — possibly because of its unusual sounds, its toady meaning, and…
Nature name
Worthy sibling for Oak, Elm, Juniper, and Spruce.
English
"roe-deer brook"
If you feel a burning need to gussy up Ray -- think again.
"grower or seller of barley"
A bit too bad-boy (think bars, beer, Harley) for us, as well as being the name of a grain.
French
"dark brown"
This fabric word name would be a one-of-a-kind.
English, French
"reddish brown"
Russet has a lot of potential. It's a rustic word name, associated with homespun cloth, apples, and an earthy shade of reddish-brown. At the same time, it's similar enough to the likes of Russell,…
"bright forest"
Unfashionable surname, best left in the forest with Robin Hood and his Merry Men.
Short form of Aubrey, Auburn, Aubin, or Auberon, English, French
"elf ruler; reddish-brown color; white, bright"
A playful short form with a similar sound to Toby, Augie, Albie, or Bobbie, Aubie might come from a variety of AUB- names, and may be pronounced AWB-ee or O-bee, depending on which long form you had…
Soft, amber-hued herbal and autumnal name that's used most often to describe the color of a horse. The proper spelling: Sorrel.
African
"dark tree"
Would you really want to name your child after a Japanese anime movie called Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space.
English word name
"golden brown"
Y-ending color adjectives like Tawny and Rusty are nowhere near as stylish as the more sophisticated Lilacs and Violets.
Turkish, Hebrew, or English
"scepter, bronze, or forest"
Arda is a simple gender-neutral name with several possible origins and meanings. As a Turkish name, it's usually used for males and means scepter. There is also a river in Turkey called the Arda. The…
French word name
"earth"
An intriguing but challenging choice, because of possible confusion with all the Terry-type names.
Color name
Conjures up the rich brown colors of raw and burnt umber, but it may be too close to girls' Amber.
Turkish
"brown; handsome"
Yağız, written with the dotless I, first broke into Turkey's Top 100 in 2008, and now is among the Top 50 boy names.
Hebrew
"roe, deer"
Compelling Z name mentioned in the Old Testament and one of the unique baby names still undiscovered from the Bible.
English word name or variation of Almund or Aleman, German
"almond; noble strength; German"
Almond may seem like a hippy modern name, but its use for American boys goes right back to the mid-nineteenth century. In these cases, it was either a variation of Almund, meaning "noble strength,"…
Irish
"dark one"
A distinctive alternative to Conan.
"descendant of Croínín"
Cronin is a masculine name of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic surname 'Ó Croínín,' meaning "descendant of Croínín" (a diminutive of 'cron,' meaning saffron-colored or tawny). As a first name,…
French and Irish surname
"dark one, or from Arcy, or from the fortress"
D'arcy is derived from the Norman place name Arcy, which became a surname for those who hailed from there. The distinctive apostrophe emphasizes its French aristocratic heritage. As a first name,…
