Nature/Word Names

Pleasant-sounding word that could morph into a unique Sunday-picnic-type name.

Doe is a soft and gentle-eyed middle name possibility and, like Fawn, one of the few animal names open to girls.

One of the new bird names, like Lark and Wren, this one's associated with the billing and cooing sounds of love. Soft and gentle, Dove also has the admirable association with peace.

Solemn but soaring name with patriotic symbolism.

A word that's been used, very infrequently, as a name for hundreds of years. Interesting sound and meaning.

Easter has been used as a name for several hundred years, as part of the day-naming tradition; now, this rarely heard holiday celebration name would make a novel choice for a springtime baby. Background:The early Anglo-Saxon monk and scholar Bede took the name of a goddess--Eostre-- whose feast was celebrated at the vernal equinox and gave it to the Christian festival of the resurrection of Christ.

An attractive and now underused nature name belonging to a tree whose wood is prized for its dark color and dense texture, which shines when polished. Ebony joined the most popular girl names list in the US in the early 1970s, peaked in 1982 at #132, and dropped back below the Top 1000 in 2006.

Echo, the pretty, resonant name of a legendary nymph, was the heroine of Joss Whedon's sci-fi series Dollhouse. Nick Hexum, of the band 311, named his daughter Echo Love.

Though this feels like a new invention, people have used day names such as Morning and Afternoon for centuries -- and so why not Evening too? It's a lovely word with an evocative meaning and makes a perfect addition to this newly stylish group.

Fable, like Story, is a word name with real potential, combining enchanted tale-telling with a moral edge. And soundwise, it would fit right in with the likes of Abel and Mabel.

There is a whole new species of bird names open to the baby namer, from the light and feminine Lark to the sleek and powerful Falcon.

The doe-eyed Fawn is as gentle and soft as the baby deer it represents. And much like that baby deer, it carries with it the potential of new life. Fawn was featured at the bottom of the Top 1000 throughout the '60s and '70s — around the same time that Bambi came into play. But unlike Bambi, Fawn maintains relevance in the 21st century, thanks to its warmth and ties to the natural world. We would love to meet more baby girls named Fawn.

Bird name possibility, rarer than Lark and Wren but with the same short, punchy feel.

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.

Long heard as a last name, as in venerable poet Robert, U.K. talk show host David, British actress Sadie and old Jack Frost, Frost has suddenly entered the scene as a possible first, along with other seasonal weather names like Winter and Snow.

The meaning is kind of silly, but the name might make a distinctive update of Janet.

Shady, leafy nature-boy name.

If you find Grover too fusty and furry, this is a much cooler-sounding alternative.

We've seen Haven take off as a nouveau girls' name; Harbor could follow in its wake.