Wild Nature Names
Updated Tue Jan 30 2024
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Wild nature names are the untamed names of the nature name category, conjuring up images of mountain ranges, fields of wildflowers, and wild animals with names such as Everest, Poppy, and Fox.
Along with Poppy, other wild nature names for girls in the US Top 1000 include Aspen, Ember, Ivy, and Meadow. In addition to Fox, other wild nature names for boys in the US Top 1000 include Blaze, Onyx, and River.
Among the unique wild nature names that might appeal are Marigold, Oak, Prairie, and Wolf.
A wild nature name could be just right for a free-spirited, independent wild child. If you’re inspired by the vast, undomesticated elements of nature, these wild nature names are worth considering.
The wild nature names on this list are ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.
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- Luna
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"moon"Description:
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.
- Ivy
Origin:
Botanical nameDescription:
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 names for December babies.
- Wren
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"small bird"Description:
Wren, a lilting songbird name, could be the next Robin. It makes a particularly pleasing middle name choice, as does her newly discovered cousin Lark. Wren entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2012 and is among the new wave of popular English names for girls.
- Daisy
Origin:
Diminutive of Margaret or flower name, EnglishMeaning:
"day's eye"Description:
Daisy, fresh, wholesome, and energetic, is one of the flower names that burst back into bloom after a century's hibernation. Originally a nickname for Margaret (the French Marguerite is the word for the flower), Daisy comes from the phrase "day's eye," because it opens its petals at daybreak.
- River
Origin:
Nature nameDescription:
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.
- Poppy
Origin:
English from LatinMeaning:
"red flower"Description:
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.
- Briar
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"a thorny patch"Description:
Fairy-tale memories of Sleeping Beauty inspire some parents—such as Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen—to call their daughters Briar Rose. But Briar plus a different middle name might work even better. It's one of the newly popular nature-word names, charting in the US for the first time in 2015 for both genders.
- Willow
Origin:
English nature nameMeaning:
"willow tree"Description:
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.
- Clover
Origin:
Flower name, from Old EnglishMeaning:
"key"Description:
Clover is a charming, perky choice if you want to move beyond hothouse blooms like Rose and Lily, and it's recently become a new celeb favorite, chosen by both Neal McDonough and Natasha Gregson Wagner, who used it to honor her mother, Natalie Wood, one of whose most iconic films was Inside Daisy Clover.
- Sage
Origin:
Herb name; LatinMeaning:
"wise"Description:
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.
- Wilder
Origin:
Surname or word nameDescription:
New to the US Top 1000 in 2015, Wilder is on many parents' possibility lists, one of the new generation of bad boy names growing in popularity. Wilder got a big boost in interest through Goldie Hawn's grandson, born in 2007, via son Oliver.
- Marigold
Origin:
Flower name, from EnglishMeaning:
"golden flower"Description:
Marigold, once found almost exclusively in English novels and aristocratic nurseries, is beginning to be talked about and considered here. It has a sweet, sunny, quirky feel. The marigold was the symbol of the Virgin Mary.
- Fox
Origin:
Animal nameDescription:
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.
- Ember
Origin:
French variation of AmberDescription:
Unlike Amber, which is in decline, this name still has a bit of a glow left -- though confusions between the two will inevitably arise.
- Onyx
Origin:
Gem nameDescription:
Unlike Pearl and Ruby, this is one gem name suited for boys, the final x making it sound strong and virile. Musician Iggy Azalea chose the name Onyx for her son.
- Indigo
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"Indian dye"Description:
Indigo is one of the most appealing and evocative of the new generation of color names. Color names have joined flower and jewel names -- in a big way -- and Indigo, a deep blue-purple dye from plants native to India, is particularly striking for both girls and boys. Indigo is the name of a character in the Ntozake Shange novel Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo, and was used for his daughter by Lou Diamond Phillips.
- Wolf
Origin:
Animal name or diminutive of Wolfgang, GermanMeaning:
" traveling wolf"Description:
Wolf is a name with a split personality. It can be seen as one of the fierce animal names, like Fox and Bear and Puma, with a touch of the werewolf, or it can be viewed as a quieter, Wolf Blitzer kind of name, fairly common in German (where is pronounced Vulf) and Jewish families, sometimes as a short form of Wolfgang, or even Wolfram or Wolfhart.
- Linnea
Origin:
SwedishMeaning:
"twinflower, lime tree"Description:
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.
- Bear
Origin:
Animal nameMeaning:
"bear"Description:
Bear has suddenly lumbered onto the baby name landscape. Perhaps inspired by British adventurer Bear Grylls (born Edward Michael), first celebrity chef Jamie Oliver used it as the middle name for his boy Buddy, and more recently Alicia Silverstone called her son Bear Blu., followed by Kate Winslet's Bear Blaize. It's part of a current trend normalizing once aggressive animal names like Wolf and Fox. Bear is now Number 218 on Nameberry and in the Top 900 in England.
- Fern
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"plant name"Description:
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.