300+ Food Baby Names
Updated Sat Dec 16 2023
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Food baby names started trending with Apple, daughter of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, with lots of tasty names joining the menu. Along with Clementine and Rosemary, other popular food names for babies include Dulce, Juniper, Madeleine, Olive, and Sage, all ranking in the US Top 1000.
Food names for girls, including Melina, Pepper, Cherry, and Dulce, have historically been more common than food names for boys — among which top choices have included Reuben, Basil, Linus, and Chip.
The Top 10 food baby names include several food-related names, like Daphne which means "bay laurel", along with Charlotte (a cake), Juniper (a berry), and Rueben (a sandwich).
Many of these edible baby names have long histories as names, such as Clementine and Rosemary, while others including Kale and Maple have been adopted as names more recently.
Alcohol-related names are a subset of food names, including Bourbon, Brandy, Mimosa, Sherry, and Tequila — although we don’t recommend any of those for your baby.
Included on this list of food baby names are names of actual foods as well as names with food-related meanings, ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.
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- Daphne
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"laurel tree, bay tree"Description:
In Greek mythology, Daphne was the nymph daughter of Peneus, a river god. Peneus saved Daphne from Apollo’s romantic obsessions by transforming her into a laurel tree. It is from this myth that the plant genus daphne, which contains the laurel species, gets its name.
- Charlotte
Origin:
French, feminine diminutive of CharlesMeaning:
"free man"Description:
Charlotte, the name of the young Princess of Cambridge, is the latest classic name to join Sophia, Emma, Olivia, and Isabella at the top of the popularity list. It is now among the most popular girl names in many English-speaking and European countries.
- Clementine
Origin:
French feminine version of Clement, LatinMeaning:
"mild, merciful"Description:
Clementine is a Nameberry favorite that broke back into the US Top 1000 in 2014 after more than half a century off the list.
- Juniper
Origin:
Latin tree nameMeaning:
"young"Description:
Juniper is a fresh-feeling nature name -- it's a small evergreen shrub -- with lots of energy. A new favorite of fashionable parents, Juniper joins such other tree and shrub names as Hazel, Acacia, and Willow.
- Olive
Origin:
English, from Latin, nature nameMeaning:
"olive tree"Description:
Though greatly overshadowed by the trendy Olivia, Olive has a quiet, subtle appeal of its own -- and is now enjoying a remarkable comeback. Olive is one of only four girl names starting with O on the US Top 1000. Cool couple Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen chose it for their daughter, reviving the name to stylishness, and now Drew Barrymore has a little Olive too, as has country singer Jake Owen.
- Sage
Origin:
Herb name, LatinMeaning:
"wise and knowing"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.
- Reuben
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"behold, a son"Description:
Reuben is derived from the Hebrew words ra’a, meaning "to see, to understand," and ben, "son." As a phrase it translates to "behold, a son." In the Bible, Reuben is Jacob's first-born son by Leah and the founder of one of the tribes of Israel.
- Rosemary
Origin:
Latin or EnglishMeaning:
"dew of the sea, or rosemary (herb)"Description:
Despite appearances, Rosemary is not a "smoosh" name, not even a traditional one. The name derives from two Latin terms "Ros" meaning ‘dew’ and "Marinus" "meaning "of the sea". The plant was termed ‘dew of the sea’ due to its salty texture and its ability to thrive in coastal climes. Only after the Middle Ages did the English names of Rose and Mary become interchanged with the name Rosmarinus and give us the modern name we use today.
- Laura
Origin:
English from LatinMeaning:
"from Laurentum or bay laurel"Description:
Laura is a hauntingly evocative perennial, never trendy, never dated, feminine without being fussy, with long-standing literary links. All this makes Laura a more solid choice than any of its more decorative counterparts and one of the most classic girl names starting with L.
- Rue
Origin:
Botanical names or word nameMeaning:
"herb; regret"Description:
Rue has gone from Golden Girls actress to Hunger Games heroine to a fresh alternative to beloved middle name Rose. This botanical name is also a coincidental double word name, meaning "regret" in English and "street" in French. Despite these unfortunate secondary meanings, Rue has real potential to be one of the most popular new middle names for girls.
- Linus
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"flax"Description:
Can Linus lose its metaphorical security blanket and move from the Peanuts page onto the birth certificate? We think it has enough charm and other positive elements going for it for the answer to be yes.
- Cassia
Origin:
Feminine form of Cassius or GreekMeaning:
"cinnamon"Description:
Cassia is related to the cassia tree, which has yellow flowers and produces a spice that can be a substitute for cinnamon. Keziah, the name of Job’s daughter in the Old Testament, derives from the name of the plant as well. Cassia also has ties to the Ancient Roman name Cassius, an Ancient Roman family name meaning "hollow."
- Madeleine
Origin:
French variation of MagdalenMeaning:
"woman from Magdala or high tower"Description:
Sophisticated and sweet, delicate but substantial, Madeleine is the classic French variation of Magdalene.
- Angelica
Origin:
Italian, Polish, Russian diminutive of AngelaMeaning:
"angel or angelic"Description:
Angelica is by far the choicest form of the angelic names -- more delicate than Angelina, more feminine than Angel, more modern than Angela. But though Angelica is so lacy and poetic, it lags behind the bolder Angelina (probably for obvious reasons).
- Sage
Origin:
Herb name and also LatinMeaning:
"wise and knowing"Description:
A modern, multifaceted name, Sage is short, sweet, and strong. A unisex possibility, it is also a virtuous word name associated with wisdom, and a nature name linked to a fragrant herb.
- Jasmine
Origin:
Flower name, from PersianMeaning:
"gift from God"Description:
Jasmine was derived from the Persian word yasmin, referring to the jasmine flower. Scented oil was made from the plant, and it was used as a perfume throughout the Persian Empire. Variants include Jazmin, Yasmin, Yasmine, and Jessamine.
- Maple
Origin:
English tree name from LatinMeaning:
"maple tree; tree of the Acer genus"Description:
Maple is one of those sweet-spot word names that sounds so almost name-like that it doesn't feel outlandish or strange, despite its relative newness as a given name. Just as Juniper is adjacent to June or Pippa, Clover like Chloe or Clara and Ember like Emma or Ebba, Maple is enough like Mabel, Maisie and Mae that it blends in well and has a touch of borrowed vintage charm.
- Saffron
Origin:
Spice nameMeaning:
"orange-yellow color; a type of crocus"Description:
Spice names are increasingly appealing to the senses of prospective parents; this one, belonging to a precious spice derived from the crocus has a vaguely orange-scented-incense sixties feel.
- Basil
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"royal"Description:
Although Greek in origin--in the fourth century, a bishop by that name established the principles of the Greek Orthodox Church--Basil for years took on the aura of aquiline-nosed upper-class Britishness of Sherlock Holmes portrayer Basil Rathbone, then spiced with the fragrant aroma of the herb that entered with the Pesto generation.
- Pamela
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"all honey"Description:
Pam was a somewhat pampered prom queen of the sixties who was never called by her full name, which is a pity because Pamela is so mellifluous and rich in literary history. A Top 25 name from the late 1940's through the late 60's, Pamela has just, sadly, dropped out of the Top 1000.