Environmental baby names: Forrest, Rain, River, Sky

Today on Blog Action Day, thousands of bloggers from all over the world will be writing about environmental issues.

You may be wondering: How can baby names be linked to the environment?

Well, people name their children after family members (e.g. Uncle Joe), religious figures (St. Patrick), places (London), concepts (Hope)… things that matter to them, things they deem important enough to honor.

If you feel strongly about a certain environmental issue, why not do the same thing? There’s surely a baby name out there with a connection to that issue.

For instance, here are two environmental issues I’m personally concerned about and some baby names that remind me of them:

  • The sea ice that polar bears depend on is melting due to global climate change. Because of this habitat loss, polar bears may soon soon be considered a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Baby names that have to do with bears or ice include Bernard, Bjorn, Crystal, Dov, Orson, Osborn and Ursula.
  • Deforestation is occurring globally at an unprecedented rate. The loss of forests adversely affects biodiversity, wildlife, geography and climate. Baby names that have to do with forests or trees include Aspen, Forrest, Holly, Laurel, Linden, Silvester, Silvia, Tamar and Willow.

If you’re worried about the impact that dams have on the environment, you could think about River or Rio. If you feel it’s imperative that we protect the Great Barrier Reef, you could consider Coral or Coralie. If your pet cause is ozone depletion, try Sky; if it’s overfishing, maybe Ocean.

What issues mean the most to you? Leave me a comment and I’ll come up with a few related baby names…

14 thoughts on “Environmental baby names: Forrest, Rain, River, Sky

  1. Nancy F. – Thanks! I’ll add it.

    Jill H. – Fur in fashion? Here are some ideas:

    *Calvin – can be traced back to a French word meaning “bald.” (It could denote the importance of buying/wearing clothes that are “hairless” / “furless.”)

    *Fox, Sable, Wolf – in honor of the animals traditionally used as sources of fur.

    *Caesar, Crispin/Crispina, Sherlock – all are hair-related. (I don’t think there are any fur-related names out there, but hair is pretty close.)

  2. For urbanisation and the loss of countryside, how about these:

    Chloe – Green
    Sansana – leaf
    Alei – leaf
    Hagius – hedge
    Calantha – beautiful flower
    Lee – meadow
    Rylan – country of cereal grass

  3. Thanks, Luke, those are great. In fact, I think some of those would work for vegetarianism as well. Here are a few others for vegetarianism:

    -Sage, Poppy, Saffron, Ginger, Basil and other herb/spices that also work as names.

    -Noah, after the Biblical figure who saved all the animals from the great flood.

    -Gopala, “protector of cows,” which was another name for the god Krishna.

  4. Hi Macy – Bruno comes from a Germanic word meaning “brown.” The association with bears probably comes from its common use as a name for brown bears (including a Warner Bros. cartoon character and the Brown University mascot). Either that, or its similarity to the word bruin.

  5. Hello Bloggers,

    I have 3 children and one on the way(names Forrest, Autumn and Canyon) we need help coming up with a baby boy name to fit the naming theme we have developed throughout the years, please email me with good nature boy names (we are considering River, however we are open to other suggestions) I will email you back with a picture of the baby if you are the winner of naming our baby boy! I am due in about 5-6 weeks so please start sending me your best suggestions because we don’t have much time left!

    Thanks,

    Kimberly Koch

  6. Kimberly – You’ve already got a season and two different types of landscapes, so what about a third type of landscape? Maybe something water-related, like Ocean, Lake or River?

  7. pls suggest a best name for a baby boy or a baby girl..my wife name is rosemary and mine is boyeth..my wife soon give birth maybe in december and im an environmentalist…what name should i give to my baby? pls help..

  8. @dukeboyeth – I’d be happy to help if you could give me more information. Try the contact link at the top of the page.

  9. we have two kids. clayton (support of our land/soils) and brooke (support our rivers/lake). we are expecting our third and are in desperate need of names. we do not know if it’s a boy or girl..we like suprises. our last name ends in ski (so names ending in y/ie..etc are out b/c they sound too juvenielle.) please feel free to suggest away!

  10. I’m looking for an earthy middle name to follow Willa…Willa means resolute protector, so I want the MN to tie into that meaning. Something like Resolute protector of the mountains, of nature, of earth, of life even.

    I’ve thought of Gaia or Sierra but I don’t like that they end in A. Sounds kind of funny with Willa.

    Any suggestions? Thanks!!

  11. My favourite “nature” names are Eden and Daphne but it’s more for style than meaning.

    @Meridith, maybe Demeter? Diane (rather than Diana if you don’t want the a ending)? or Isis?

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