We touched a bit on nature inspired names when we did our names that end in “a” post, but we’re going all in on nature baby names with today’s post!
Do you look to nature for name inspiration? Whether that’s floral names, names inspired by the feeling you get when you’re in nature or names inspired by other natural elements like water, gems and more… we’ve got them all covered today as we help this mama to be find a nature name (ideally with nickname potential!) that she loves. Let’s do this!
Jen R has one child, Dahlia Josephine, and another baby on the way. Here’s what she’s looking for in a name:
“I like unique names that often have a reference to nature. I also like names that can be shortened for a nickname. We are having a lot of difficulty coming up for a name for a baby boy. One contender is Nico, but we still don’t feel like it is a good fit. Help us pick a name please!”
Keep reading for our suggestions!
Nature Inspired Names and Nicknames
We had fun looking for inspiration from trees, space and natural stones for this list of nature inspired baby names. Several of them have great nickname potential, too! Here’s some of our favorites:
- Alder
- Cedar
- Cosmo
- Everett (Ever)
- Forest
- Jasper
- Larkin (Lark)
- Leif
- Noble
- Oakley (Oak)
- Onyx
- Paxton (Pax)
- Phoenix
- Pine
- Reed
- Rowan (Ro)
- Summit
- West
I included some “nature-adjacent” names here like Paxton because of its strong ties to “peace,” which people often feel while in nature, and Summit which is such a great, strong name that would be especially meaningful name for any families who love to hike or rock climb.
For even more nature inspiration, we’ve looked to botanicals and natural gem stones. These would be especially fun paired with sister Dahlia! Here’s a few we love, and the nicknames we think would be perfect for some of them:
- Auburn
- Clover
- Cove (Coco)
- Ember
- Emerald (Emmy)
- Fern
- Florrie (Flo)
- Jade
- Juniper (June)
- Lake
- Marigold (Goldie)
- Paloma
- Sage
- Waverly (Vera)
- Willow (Willa)
We also loved the idea of a name like Ember, or a color name you’d see in nature like Auburn!
What are your favorite nature inspired names?
Do you have other favorite nature baby names? Perhaps another flower name, a name inspired by water or air, a name inspired by a feeling you get from nature? Or something else entirely! We’d love to hear them below!
Congratulations, Jen! We hope you both find a name you love!
If you’re expecting or adopting and would like to apply to be a part of the series, click here to fill out this form about your situation and name preferences!!
Lindsey says
I knew kids growing up that were all named after mountain ranges: Everest, Cascade, Berkshire, Cadillac
R says
Love these suggestions! We have a Reid Summit. I also love Fox.
Kelly says
Omg! Reid Summit! Love that!!!
L says
I still don’t have kids but one at the top of my list for a girl is Linden (Lindy) like the tree!
Kelly says
LOVE that name omg!!
Swan says
Congrats on your baby boy Jen! Nature is such such a wide category, I had trouble limiting my suggestions, but here goes:
Rocks: Clay, Coal, Flint, Steel, Stone, Slate
Land: Cliff, Craig, Dale, Ford, Heath, Lee, Ridge
Green: Alder, Cedar, Forest, Moss, Oaks, Oliver, Teak, Thorne
Water: Brook, Lake, Marsh, Ocean
Animals: Colt, Crane, Drake, Fox, Hawk, Jay, Joey, Leander (Lee)
Celestial: Cygnus, Leo, Orion
Good luck, and happy choosing!
Hope y’all don’t mind me commenting again, but names and babies make me happy. 🙂
Kelly says
So many incredible ones here, Swan!!
Anne says
Adrian: “he go comes from the sea”
Aran: basque word for valley
Bosco: means forrest
Dimas: Hebrew for sunset
Vega: means falling star
Zora: Arabic origin, means dawn
Kelly says
Bosco and Vega!! This is such a great list!
Anna says
Our first boy is named Wilder, with the nickname Wild! It, er, suits him well! Our younger son has the middle name Fox, which I thought went with many first names really well.
Elyssa says
Also Palmer, Windsor and Reef!
(P.S. Our son’s middle name is Cove. 🤗)
Kayla says
I love nature inspired names as well! My daughter is Azalea, she goes by Zellie. I also love Rainier and Mercer for boy names (I’m from Seattle and those are both landmarks there).
Kate says
Not specifically nature related, but close, is Ansel (as in Adams). You can look up other conservationists or naturalists, or look at who has national parks or the like named after them. Separately, I also think Micah is a great name.
Gia says
My nature inspired kids’ names are Forrest (with 2 R’s), Violet (an old family name), and Ginger. (I’m a dancer and always loved Ginger Rogers and it fit with our name theme!)
Kelly says
Such a sweet trio of names!!
Johanna says
My nephews name is Baker and I just love it 🙂
Johanna says
Related to Mt. Baker in Washington
Kelly says
LOVE that!
Michelle says
Congratulations! It feels like such a huge decision. Based on your thoughts, I like …
Ash, Fisher, Everest
These names are not too unusual but have earthy tones and a beautiful quality (to me!).
Megan says
I have a Rivers and we call him Rivs for short, I also have a little girl named rainbow that we call bow for short. Haha 😂 GO WITH THE WEIRD NATURE NAMES! We love them!
Kelly says
Rivers is such a great name, love the nickname too!!
Jamie says
Both of my daughters have nature related names, so this is one of my favorite themes! I love the name Ash for a boy. The genus is Fraxinus, which is also kind of cool. Oak/Oakley is also a nice name.
Courtney says
A friend of mine has a girl named Aspen. Love that for a girl. She named her second girl Cardiff, after the beach town she used to live in. They call her Cardi for short.
Two nature inspired names I almost used are Grant and Ford. Okay, so they are loosely inspired by nature LOL. Grant was my grandfather’s name and also the name of a famous sequoia in Sequoia National Park.
Ford came to mind after a trip to Ice Land.
Jane Bowen says
What about Faye or Ivy? Such cute names
Emily says
Cute post! confused by the numbers listed in the graphics though! Could just be me not understanding, but they don’t seem to line up with the number of names provided.