Nature, Place and Word Names
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 17 pages
of 17
French
"apple"
Une amie for Gwyneth's little girl.
Latin
This name of the Roman goddess of fruit trees is also associated with a suburban town in Southern California.
Fruit name
Prune is a fruit name loved by the French, for whom it's a Plum equivalent. In the U.S., Plum works, but Prune is not a name we'd want to inflict on a child. Prunella is slightly more plausible.
"small plum"
Most ella names are hot, but this is one that won't catch fire because of the disagreeable connotations of prunes.
"little plum"
This sweet, fruity French name debuted in the American charts in 2020 (but dipped out again the following year). Although it's offbeat, the spunky nicknames Prue and Nell(ie) definitely work in its…
Hindi, Sindhi, and Bengali
"mint, peppermint"
A rare minty baby name occasionally used in India. The Pudina spelling is slightly more popular.
Pudina is the word for mint in many Indian languages. It's slightly more common than the Pudeena variation, although each are rare as baby names.
French and English
"providing food"
This spelling does not dispel the "perv" connection.
"applelike fruit"
'Q' names are hot, and this is an intriguing fruit name that could be used for a girl or boy. The quince often appears in Greek myth, in tales of Aphrodite, Paris and Atalanta. Can also be a nickname…
Hebrew
"pomegranate"
Well used in Israel, likely to be confused with Ramona here.
"a Roman"
In this country, likely to conjure up visions of leafy lettuce.
French and Spanish
"rose and honey"
A French surname turned Spanish masculine given name, Rosamel likely derives from the combination of rose + Greek mel "honey". As a surname, it was borne by a 19th century French naval officer with…
Spanish and French
"salt"
Salacia was the goddess of the sea in ancient Roman mythology — the divine personification of the calm, sunlit saltwater. She was also a wife of Neptune. Her name derives from sal , Latin for "salt."
Inca, Quechua
"maize mother"
In Inca mythology, Saramama was the goddess of maize.
Thai
The Thai word for "mint" is also a beautiful (and rare!) girl name.
Food name and word name
Poppy is the most widely-used seed name, opening the door for Sesame. While Sesame has a pretty sound, it is not often used as a name -- fewer than five baby girls were given the name in the US in…
"almond"
Arabic
"ear of corn; ear of wheat"
Sonbol has never made it onto birth records in the US, but it is occasionally used for baby girls in Muslim countries, as the word sonbol is mentioned in the Quran. With its agricultural meaning,…
Another entry in the fruit name category, this one borne by writer Strawberry Saroyan, granddaughter of William, so named by her hippie parents. While fruit names may become more familiar, they'll…
