What's in a name?

We all know that being close to nature provides a well needed feel good factor and one lovely way of staying connected is to use names from nature for our children. Using flower names in particular can transport us to a past place, time (think Holly for a December baby) or invoke a memory related to the smells or colours associated with our favourite flowers or beautiful blooms. That along with the resurgence of older names, many of which are floral based (e.g. Rose, Iris, Ivy) makes for a very popular baby name genre.

Daisy is the name given to one of my own children. Daisies are clean, pretty flowers associated with vibrant colours such as bright green, fresh yellow and pure white. When spoken, this name conjures up thoughts of warm summer days and blue skies, mixed in with happy memories of hours spent laying in the grass making daisy chains. She has a middle name of Olive, which, when spoken feels a lot more grounded and stable and makes one think of more muted, calmer colours. Oddly enough she is very sprightly, but with a sensible head.

More recently there has been a trend towards less floral nature based names such as River, Wren, Brook and Willow. These earthy names provide a connection with the elements and the planet, which has a positive impact on our health and wellbeing and can demonstrate how much we need to protect this precious relationship.

Whatever the reason for choice, names of nature will always be simple, practical and open. Something we can all aspire to be.