585+ Botanical Baby Names

Rayen is well-known in Chile, and sometimes seen in the Netherlands, as a Mapuche girls name meaning flower. This name could be an alternative to people who like Ryan but want to keep it as a boys name or as a spunkier alternative to other names that mean flower, such as Fleur and Flora.

Kassia is the k-styled spelling variation of rising star name Cassia, an obscure but attractive botanical choice drawn from the cassia tree, which produces a cinnamon-like spice. The biblical Keziah is related.

When given the French pronunciation (ay-LAN), has a great deal of esprit and élan.

The th sound both softens and complicates this Melanie relative.

Vivacious but lightweight.

Yesenia is a Latinx favorite popularized by a character on a Spanish-language soap opera. Jessenia is another variation. The name is drawn from the name of a palm tree in South America, but Yesenia is also an Arabic name meaning flower, making it an excellent cross-cultural choice.

Known in America via the wife of Soviet head Mikhail Gorbachev; a possibility for parents of Eastern-European descent wanting to move beyond Natasha and Nadia or for parents from the Middle East looking for a name that works in both cultures.

Acer is the Latin botanical name for the Maple tree. Where Maple feels quite feminine, Acer is a more masculine way to reference this tree.

An attractive enough name, but for die-hard Star Wars fans only.

Swaggering western place-name with a lot of cowboy bravado and panache.

Pema is related to the more familiar Hindu name Padma and means lotus flower. This delightful name was given to only 14 girls in the USA last year, so it's guaranteed to be a unique choice. Pema is probably most familiar to Westerners through Buddhist nun Pema Chodron and through Jetsun Pema, the Dalai Lama's sister.

Kirrily, which rhymes with cheerily, is a name that's uniquely popular in Australia. It originated in recent decades as an elaboration of several similar names – the European Kyra or Keira, the Maori Kiri which means tree bark, or the Aboriginal word kira which means leaf – plus the lee sound. Both Aboriginal actress Kirrily Nolan and Australian fashion designer Kirrily Johnston have helped popularize the name, which has spawned a countless number of spelling variations. Kirrily is one of the unique baby names to watch.

Boys' names beginning with "El" were all the rage in the 1910s, but today Elmore - along with Elwin, Ellsworth and others - has barely been used for decades. It has literary connections through writer Elmore "Dutch" Leonard. More recently, several children's book characters have given the name a cuddly feel: Holly Hobbie's Elmore the Porcupine, and Elmore Green in Lauren Child's "The New Small Person".

Araluen is a beautiful Aboriginal Australian place name, used in several sites, always connected to the dainty water lily.

A modern Cornish word name with a sturdy natural namesake. Derwa is a related Cornish saint's name.

The campion is a pretty woodland plant with pink or red flowers, whose common name derives from Old French champion "champion". The plant is so called because in classical times, the rose campion was fitted in garlands used to crown victors.

Intriguing derivation, though people will assume it's a simplified form of Maura.

This yellow harbinger spring bloom was named for Scottish botanist William Forsyth, and is even more unusual than such species as Acacia and Azalea.

Azami has a prickly image and feel — reinforced by the thistle's image in Eastern mythology as one of defiance. A name that spans two widely divergent cultures, Azami might make the perfect international choice, at once unusual and easy to comprehend.

Madelief is an uncommon name but not unheard of in the Netherlands, where 123 girls were called Madelief in one recent year. With its soft sounds and similarities to all those "Madeleine" type names as well as names ending in "eef/eev" sounds (Aoife, Eve, Genevieve), Madelief has potential in English-speaking countries to be a fresh and pleasant change from Daisy, Margaret and Madeleine.