Names for Earth Day
April 22, 2009
Milkvetch. Wallflower. Toothwart.
Yes, the Earth is indeed a wellspring for baby names.
Actually I skipped those. Here are a few favorites culled– believe it or not– from endangered species lists. Morbid as that may seem, I promise they’re quite nice! Famous conservationists and a few other notables help bring it back down to Earth. I’d love to see Audubon or Fossey as firsts or to meet an all-American infant Sigurd.
Truly though, the names are of minor importance. Gasp! The most we can hope for is that our children do better than we did.
NOTE: This post is simultatneously appearing at Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran’s wonderful nameberry.com, where I am a guest blogger. If you haven’t done so already, please enter their contest to guess the top 10 names for boys and girls for 2008. Be the first to guess correctly and you could win four amazing books including and advanced copy of their brand spanking new Beyond Ava and Aiden: The Enlightened Guide to Naming Your Baby. Think the 2008 changed radically?
FAMOUS CONSERVATIONISTS
John James Audubon
Rachel Carson
Jeff Corwin
Jacques Cousteau
Dian Fossey
Buckminster Fuller
Jane Goodall
Julia Butterfly Hill
Steve Irwin
Aldo Leopold
Chico Mendes
John Muir
Frederick Law Olmstead
Sigurd F. Olson
Peter Simon Pallas
Henry David Thoreau
EMBLEMS OF THE EARTH
GIRLS
Anona- Roman goddess of the harvest
Avani- Sanskrit, “earth”
Ceres- Ancient Roman, “to grow”, Roman goddess of agriculture
Demeter- Greek, “earth mother”, Greek goddess of agriculture
Flora- Roman goddess of flowers
Francis- Italian saint reknowned for his connection to animals
Gaia- Greek, “earth”, and the goddess of the earth
Georgia, Georgina, Georgianna- Greek, “farmer”
Kun- Chinese, “earth”
Luna- Roman goddess of the moon
Perpetua- Latin, “continuous”
Terra- Latin, “earth”
Zoe- Greek, “life”
BOYS
Adam- Hebrew, debated meaning; man formed from the Earth
Asa- Hebrew, “healer”
Chayim- Hebrew, “life”
Enki- Sumerian, “lord of the earth”, god of water and wisdom
George- Greek, “farmer, earthworker”
Pax- Latin, “peace”
Vitus- Ancient Roman, from the latin for “life”
Zephyr- Greek god of the west wind
ANIMAL
Akialoa
Bear
Bison
Caribou
Cheetah
Condor
Cougar
Crane
Delphine
Eagle
Eider
Gazelle
Lynx
Nightingale
Ocelot
Peregrine
Rhea
Warbler
Wolf
VEGETABLE
Anemone
Aster
Azalea
Birch
Buttercup
Cicely
Clover
Columbine
Crocus
Cypress
Elm
Fern
Huckleberry
Hyssop
Indigo
Juniper
Maple
Oak
Phlox
Plum
Primrose
Rosemary
Rosette
Sage
Sedge
Snowdrop
Sundrop
Sorrel
Spruce
Thistle
Verbena
Willow
Yarrow
MINERAL
Bay
Earth, Eartha
Jasper
Marina
Obsidian
Ocean, Oceane
Onyx
Peter, Petra
Ridge
Slate
Solstice
Stone
…and finally Montana… much to the chagrin of Pam and Linda I’m sure.
Above: Oil on paper painting by Elisabeth Wilborn (that’s me). ;-)
Great post, as always, but what I really wanted to comment on was the gorgeous painting. It struck me the moment I opened your post, so much so that I felt compelled to comment on it. Imagine my delighted surprise when I scrolled down to discover the artist! Of course, I really shouldn’t be surprised that you are talented in areas other than baby naming!
So funny, I was going to say something about the painting too
You always have cool images, so I’m delighted to see an Elisabeth Wilborn original up there. hehe.
The list is pretty neat! Definitely some have the hippy dippy vibe, but a lot I wouldn’t mind hearing on a little one these days…
Quite a few interesting names here, definitely many off the beaten path. I love that you included some names of conservationists and endangered species. The painting is beautiful and has an appropriately earthy feel.
I like these names. Suddenly, Thistle seems very charming to me.
Bek– I totally agree with you. They kind of run the gamut from the hippy dippy to the soap operatic. A lot of them, like Thistle, could become charming though, or make a conventional name sparkle from the middle spot.
Thanks everyone for the compliments on the painting. It’s time for me to emerge from my hiding place on that front.
Beautiful list, even more beautiful painting!