Nature, Place and Word Names
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 4 pages
of 4
Finnish place name; Japanese
"loaded with rice"
A unisex cultural crossover that has seen a little use from the 1990s onwards. In Japanese mythology, Inari is an androgynous deity associated with rice, tea and foxes. In Finland, it is the name of…
Latin
"star of the sea"
Stella Maris ("star of the sea") is an historic title for the Virgin Mary, in use since at least the early medieval period. Although it actually arose from a scribal error in the etymology of the…
Nature name
If not for Motown founder Berry Gordy, this name would now be totally in the girl group.
English word name
"cardinal direction of north"
A lot of attention was drawn to this name when Kim Kardashian and Kanye West announced it as the name of their baby daughter, making it instantly unisex. North is a word name that's long been used,…
Finnish; Malagasy
"light"
Really offbeat, upbeat multi-cultural name with light sound and meaning. Valo might make a more unique spin on Milo.
Russian from Greek
"shining"
This appealing Russian/Nordic name has been used a handful of times since Eowyn Ivey's novel The Snow Child was published in 2012. There, Faina is a mysterious girl who loves the cold Alaskan woods.
Nature name, French
"ice"
Nature names are often associated with Spring and Summer, but Glacier is ideal for a winter baby.
Iroquois place-name
"village"
Canada is an undiscovered but attractive place-name possibility, sporadically used for girls since the 1970s. Nicknames Cadie, Addie, and Candy, maybe?
English word and nature name
Projects the sleek and playful image of the aquatic mammal, plus that of the striking British-born Brazilian/Nigerian/Afro-Caribbean singer (born Sealhenry).
With the recent arrival of fruit names like Apple and Plum, this more traditional example, symbolic of fertility, might rise in popularity. Photographer Berry Berenson was born Berinthia.…
Alutiiq, Native American,"island"
"island"
Kodiak Island, off the coast of Alaska, is the second largest island in the US as well as a baby name getting some attention, especially for boys and especially in Washington State.
"eagle"
Common Roman name mentioned in the Bible that has a crisply attractive sound.
Snow is increasing in usage mostly as a girls' name, but hero Jon Snow of Game of Thrones just might nudge it into the boys' column. Currently, there are 12 times as many girls named Snow as boys,…
Tree name
A handsome, spruced-up post-Bruce tree name.
English
"swan"
Obsolete Swanhild gives way to oh-so-modern Swan, joining the flock of newly fashionable bird names such as Wren and Lark. In France, the Swann spelling is fashionable for both sexes. But Swan…
English word name; Japanese
Taiga has two origins. As a word name derived from Turkic languages via Russian, it refers to the snow forest of the Arctic regions, making it an evocative nature name. It is also a unisex Japanese…
Finnish, Estonian
"winter"
A sleek yet friendly name of Finnish and Estonian origin, Talvi is familiar in Finland, Estonia, and Sweden, but rare in English speaking countries. It comes from the Finnish talvi or Estonian talv ,…
Greenlandic
"snow crystal"
A unisex name from the snowy north.
Geographical name
With geographical features like Savannah and Sierra and increasingly getting the baby-name treatment, could icy Tundra also see some use? It's only appeared six times on the Social Security rankings,…
A Greenlandic name from literature, Aputsiaq initially gained attention after the release of the novel "Apoutsiak, le petit flocon de neige" by French ethnologist Paul-Émile Victor. Boasting the…
