20 Gorgeous Unisex Nature Names

Ash has Southern charm plus the arboreal-nature appeal. Plus your little boy will prize Ash as the name of the hero of the Pokemon cartoons. Ash can also be a dashing short form of Asher, Ashton, or any other "Ash" name.

As trendy as the chic Colorado ski resort and film festival, Aspen is fast becoming more popular for girls than for boys, but this nature name would work equally well for either.

Fairy-tale memories of Sleeping Beauty inspire some parents—such as Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen—to call their daughters Briar Rose. But Briar plus a different middle name might work even better. It's one of the newly popular nature-word names, charting in the US for the first time in 2015 for both genders.

Clover is a charming, perky choice if you want to move beyond hothouse blooms like Rose and Lily, and it's recently become a new celeb favorite, chosen by both Neal McDonough and Natasha Gregson Wagner, who used it to honor her mother, Natalie Wood, one of whose most iconic films was Inside Daisy Clover.

In the past few years Ellery has gone from middle-aged male detective to a plausible girls' name, a la Hillary.

In English, a fen is a wetland fed by surface and/or groundwater. In Dutch and Frisian, it's a traditional diminutive of names containing the element frid, meaning "peace". Either way, Fen makes a fresh alternative to fashionable Finn.

Former traditional male name now in middle-aged limbo, but with a nice naturey meaning to endear it to modern parents. Actress Glenn Close is a famous female bearer.

Indigo is one of the most appealing and evocative of the new generation of color names. Color names have joined flower and jewel names -- in a big way -- and Indigo, a deep blue-purple dye from plants native to India, is particularly striking for both girls and boys. Although most people don't think of it like this, Indigo might also be considered among the most stylish Greek baby names in use today. Some cultural references: The Indigo Girls are a folk duo, 'Mood Indigo' is a classic Duke Ellington jazz composition, and there is a 1970's New Age theory that Indigo children possess special, sometimes supernatural abilities. Indigo is the name of a character in the Ntozake Shange novel Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo, and was used for his daughter by Lou Diamond Phillips.

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

Lark is getting some new and well-deserved attention as a post-Robin and Raven bird name. Although it was first recorded as a name in the 1830's, it has never appeared on the Social Security list.

While Marlowe (and Marlow and Marlo) are surname names that are not intrinsically or traditionally gendered and so in theory work equally well for boys and girls, only about 5 percent of the babies given these attractive names are male.

Multicultural name often heard in the Near East. Also spelled Neema.

British-born novelist Plum Sykes has taken this rich, fruity name out of the produce section and put it into the baby name basket. It's more appealing than Apple, more presentable than Peaches. The French equivalent, Prune, is very fashionable there but would not fly with English speakers.

Quill is a unique possibility for the child of writers -- even if they do use computers rather than pens; could also serve as a rhyming tribute to an ancestor named Gil, Phil, or Bill (or Jill).

Mostly feminine, though "Office" star Rainn Wilson gives it a slight masculine twist. You might also use this as a short form of Raines.

Rue has gone from Golden Girls actress to Hunger Games heroine. 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.

Sable is often associated with the Dynsaty soap opera, but it is actually a type of animal historically hunted for its fur. Sable is also used as a word for a warm, rich black color. Both associations carry hints of luxury.

Sorrel is a gentle, amber-hued herbal and autumnal name that's used most often to describe the color of a horse. Sorrell is a variant spelling. Both make excellent names for autumn babies and can be used for either gender.

The thistle is the botanical emblem of Scotland and would make a good if unusual patriotic choice for people with Scottish heritage. One of the few flower names that could be worn by a boy with as much ease as a girl.

Today Show anchor Savannah Guthrie put this name of a geographical feature on the baby name map when she chose it for her newborn daughter, Vale Guthrie Feldman. Vale might be considered part nature name, part place name: A vale is a kind of valley, often used in poetry. This truly unique choice doesn't even register on the US extended list of names given to five babies or more, but we expect Vale to register as parents are inspired by Guthrie and husband Mike Feldman's creative choice. More prosaicly, Vale might be a short form of Valerie or Valentina.