Unusual, Rare, and Unique Baby Names · Nature, Place and Word Names
Unique Nature Names
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About this list
Unique nature names marry two of the most influential baby naming trends of recent years: rare, uncommon, and unique names along with names drawn from the natural world.
Some nature names for babies are mainstream, like Lily and River. But if you're willing to explore nature a bit more adventurously, there are many more wonderful nature names for girls and boys that lie off the beaten track. These include flower names such as Lilac and Zinnia, earth names like Ridge and Canyon, and ocean names such as Beach and Wave.
All of the unique nature names on this list rank outside of the US Top 1000, so your son or daughter is unlikely to meet another child with his or her name. Unique nature names beloved by Nameberry users include Basil, Cassia, Dove, Linnea, Oak, Pepper, and Prairie.
Unusual nature names can come from flowers and trees, birds and animals, the sea and the earth and even the skies.
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The names
Cinnamon
Word name, English from Greek
"cinnamon"
A sweet and rare spice name, which made its first and only appearance on the US baby name charts in 1969 — the year Neil Young's song "Cinnamon Girl" was released.
Hill
English
"someone who lives by a hill"
Simple and down-to-earth, but would probably work best as a middle name.
Branch
Word name
Branch is an attractive name with associations both with trees and with branching out into brave new worlds. Baseball's Branch (born Wesley, with Branch as his middle name) Rickey broke the color…
Marsh
English nature name
Soft and mellifluous nature-surname name, situated miles away from the dated Marshall.
Flint
English
"born near outcrop of flint"
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…
Fern
English
"plant name"
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…
Rice
English nature name
Rice is really stretching the nature name boundary to its outer edges. But you may want to take it that far.
Coast
English word name
"land near the sea"
A brisk and beachy word name, conjuring up rugged shorelines and sandy, summery holidays. While Cove seems to have bounced back from its negative (Covid) associations, Coast might be an obvious…
Sable
English animal name
Sable is often associated with the Dynsaty soap opera, but it is actually a type of animal historically hunted for its fur. Sable is also used as a word for a warm, rich black color. Both…
Olivine
Latin
"olive"
A gem named for its green hue.
Dove
Nature name
"dove, a bird"
One of the new bird names, like Lark and Wren, this one's associated with the billing and cooing sounds of love. Soft and gentle, Dove also has the admirable association with peace. Dove was actually…
Pepper
English from Latin, Sanskrit, "the pepper plant; berry"
"the pepper plant; berry"
With its bubbly sounds and stylish feel, Pepper joins a small but distinctive group of names inspired by the spice rack: Saffron, Juniper, Cassia, Sage, Ginger, and Rosemary. Enough like Pippa, Piper…
Grove
Nature name
"grove of trees"
If you find Grover too fusty and furry, this is a much cooler-sounding alternative.
Storm
Word name
Windswept and dramatic, but perhaps asking for trouble. Quite popular in Denmark and Sweden, where it derives from Stromr, which is a fairly common surname. Storm Thorgerson is a famous bearer of the…
Lemon
English fruit name
Sour or sweet? Enough like Lennon, Leonard, and Clement to work, or best left in the fruit basket? That's up to you to decide, but Lemon has been appearing in the US charts for boys since the 1880s.…
Blossom
English
"to bloom"
Now that parents have picked virtually every name in the garden, from the common Rose to the captivating Zinnia, some are reconsidering the old, more generic names like Flora and Posy and Blossom —…
Linnea
Swedish
"twinflower, lime tree"
Linnea is an attractive Scandinavian name that derives from the renowned 18th century Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus, who developed the Linnean system of classifying plants and animals. Linnea is…
Coral
English word name
"a rock like substance formed by sea creatures; pinkish-red; gemstone"
A color name, a gemstone name, and an ocean-inspired choice, Coral has a lot going for it with its sharp C sounds yet sweet vintage feel. Unlike Scarlett or Violet, however, it is only quietly used…
Calla
Greek
"beautiful"
Calla is a botanical name that is much more distinctive than popular Lily or similar Callie. Rarely heard today, it did appear in the popularity lists in the last decades of the nineteenth century.…
Delta
Greek
"fourth letter; island formed at the mouth of a river"
Delta is an unusual vintage option, blending the sounds of Della and Etta. The fourth letter of the Greek alphabet and a geographical term, used to describe an island formed at the mouth of a river,…
