16 Earth Day Baby Names
Calling all green-thumbed parents! In honor of Earth Day today, we've put together a list of baby names related to our planet's natural elements. Keep scrolling for some Earth-inspired baby names, fromMeadowtoBrooktoOcean.
Bay, which actually means ‘berry,’ is one of the most pleasant of the cool, new water-inspired names, and could make a refreshing middle name alternate to the more expectedMayorRay. It also fits into the color and culinary categories.
The bubbling Brook is more often seen in itsBrookespelling for girls, and sometimesBrooksfor boys, though there is a character named Brook Soso on "Orange is the New Black." Brooke was boosted in popularity by Brooke Shields (bornChrista) and is now at Number 113 (it peaked at 52 in 1981). It’s still big in Scotland -- at Number 31.
The grand name Canyon is a fresh natural entry to the boys’ list of popularity, which we’ve begun to hear as a more evocative alternate to names likeKenyon.
One of the early unisex options, Dale was a Top 50 name for boys in the early 1950s, and in the 2000s for girls. Associated with long-gone figures like cowgirl Dale Evans and pop psychology guru Dale Carnegie, the name is also long-gone on both genders’ popularity lists, but might be ready for a comeback.
It’s the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet and the name of an airline, as well as the word for an island formed at the mouth of a river. Oozing with Southern charm, it was chosen not long ago byKristenBell andDaxShepard for their second daughter. Though off the national list since 1934, it ranks at 795 on Nameberry.
This is an unusual beachy option with a haunting sound and sci-fi connection to the eponymousFrankHerbert novel and film. An alternate spelling,Doon, was created by photographerDianeArbus for her daughter, inspired by the East Coast sandscape.
You couldn’t get a more direct connection to the Earth and Earth Day than this: a name used by the Puritans, then in more modern times by the parents of singer Eartha Kitt, possibly inspired by African-American philanthropist Eartha M. M. White.
Though theForrestspelling is more commonly used, this one takes you back further into the woods. This is the version used by Forest Whitaker -- a great believer in nature names for his children -- and is Number 558 on Nameberry.
This leafy word name meaning a "clearing in a forest" is just waiting for discovery by parents seeking a short, evocative nature name with the trendy ‘ade’ sound -- and that’s a lot cooler thanWade.
Another of the refreshing new water names, this one came to the fore via actress Lake Bell, mother of a girl namedNova.GiseleBￃﾼndchen andTomBrady used it as a middle name for daughterVivian.
A gentle and original nature surname name which, when used on its own, takes it miles away from the datedMarshallorMarsha.
It always seemed somewhat ironic that the daughter ofTonySoprano would have this peaceful, pastoral nature name. Meadow entered the Social Security list in 2001, and is now at Number 968, 694 on Nameberry. It is borne by the daughter of the latePaulWalker.
The soft greenery that grows near damp or shady spots has an appropriately soft sound and image. A variant ofMoses, it was most famously associated with 20th century playwright Moss Hart (bornRobert) and was also characters in "The Days and Nights ofMollyDodd" and "The IT Crowd."
One of the unisex nature names chosen by Forest Whitaker, Ocean has been flowing back into the realm of possibility. French versionOcￃﾩaneis wildly popular in Paris.
Ocean’s little brother has found far more success in the baby-naming world as one of the leading nature name, used primarily for boys.KeriRussell andTaylorHanson both have sons named River. It entered the Top 1000 in 1994, and currently ranks at Number 372 and 257 on Nameberry.
An explicit back-to-the-earth name, this Latin form of the word, at the same time, sounds more modern than dated cousinsTerryorTara.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
