Names That Mean Forest for Boys and Girls
If you’re searching for a name inspired by nature for your child, why not start with the forest? These names that mean forest are ideal for your newborn.
Many couples choose forest-inspired nature names or names that signify “forest” for their children so that they can grow up in a peaceful environment. Forest is a French word that translates to “woodsman” or “woods.”
The thought of a forest conjures up images of nature, grounding, and coexistence with wild animals. I’ve compiled a list of some of the top options to assist you in finding the perfect name.
Boy Names that Mean Forest
Adoette
The name comes from a Native American language and meaning “forest” or “olive tree.”
Aiken
The boy’s name Aiken means “made of oak.” It is of Old English origin.
Alon
Alon is a masculine Israeli surname and given name that means “tree” or “oak tree” in Hebrew. Allon, Elon, and Ilan are all variations of the name .
Aran
The name Aran is predominantly a Hebrew male name that means “wild goat” or “forest.” In Genesis, the younger son of Dishan is given this Hebrew name. It’s also a Thai name that means “forest.”
Arden
Arden is a gender-neutral English name with the meaning “from the Eagle Valley.”
Arden is a fashionable name for the lush forest in Shakespeare’s As You Like It. And it’s actually his mother’s name- Mary Arden. A name with a powerful, direct connotation.
Ashton
The given name Ashton is taken from an English surname derived from a geographical name that means “ash tree town.” In the United States, the name is used for both boys and girls.
Bor
Bor means “pine tree” in Slovene.
Boyce
The surname comes from the Old French word bois, which means “wood.”
Chan
The name Chan comes from the Chinese language. Chan is a Chinese word that means snow.’ In Sanskrit, the term also means shining.’ ‘Snow’,’moonlight,’ and ‘a fragrant tree’ are some of the other interpretations.
Codrin
This name comes from the Romanian word codru, which means “forest.”
Dagwood
Dagwood is a male name of English origin. Dagwood translates to “bright wood,” as in “from the brilliant forest.”
Dekel
The name Dekel is predominantly a Hebrew male name that means Palm Tree.
Elah
In Hebrew, it means “terebinth tree.” According to the Old Testament, this was the name of Israel’s fourth monarch. He was assassinated by Zimri, his successor.
Elwood
It is mostly a male English name that means “elder tree woodland.” The Old English words ellern, which means elder, and wudu, which means wood, combine to form this name.
Firth
Topographic term derived from Old English (ge)fyre ‘woodland’ or shrubland on the outskirts of a forest’. Scottish: habitational term for someone from Orkney’s Firth.
Welsh: topographic name derived from the Welsh words ffrith and ffridd, which mean ‘barren country’ and mountain pasture,’ respectively.
Garrick
Garrick is an Old English name that translates to “spear king” or “one who controls with a spear.” It’s also a French name that comes from the Occitan word “garric,” which means “grove of oak trees.”
Haywood
The surname comes from an Old English place name that means “walled wood.”
Heath
Heath is an English name that means “Heather and Grass Land.” Today, the name is only used infrequently, although it is still a unique choice. Heathcliff (as in Emily Bronte’s hero from “Wuthering Heights’ ‘) might also be regarded as a form of his name.
Kai
If you’re looking for tree names, Kai is a Native American name meaning Willow Tree. It means “sea” in Hawaiian culture. In Japanese culture, “shell.”
Kai is thought to have Frisian roots in Europe, as it is a shorter version of the name Kaimbe, which means “fighter.” Kai’s meaning is “keeper of the keys; soil,” and it is thought to have Welsh, Scandinavian, and Greek roots.
Lincoln
Lincoln is an English baby boy name. Fun fact: Lincoln National Forest.
Locke
The boy’s name Locke is pronounced lahk. Locke means “woods; fortified location; pond” and is derived from Old English and Old German.
Nowles
Nowles is a gender-neutral English name that means “Dweller On The Hilltop.”
Oren
Oren is a male given name that means “pine” or “ash” in Hebrew. Oren, along with Ram, Bunah, Ozem, and Ahijah, are the sons of Jerahmeel, Hezron’s firstborn, according to the Bible.
Ranger
Ranger is a predominantly American masculine name with an English origin that means Forest Protector.
Roscoe
From an English surname derived from an Old Norse place name derived from rá “roebuck” and skógr “wood, woodland.” Your son will stand out with this uncommon yet familiar name.
Sen
According to its Vietnamese origins, Sen means ‘lotus flower.’
Sen is a Japanese word that means “forest elf.” In fact, in Japanese mythology, Sen is the name of a woodland elf.
Chihiro from Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away is a significant fictional character with the name, and when she works in the bathhouse, she is given the name Sen.
Sylvain
Silvain is a Roman name derived from the Latin word silva, which means “wood, woodland.” Sylvain is a predominantly male name that means “of the forest.”
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Vipin
In Sanskrit, it means “forest.”
Waverley
“From Waverley (Surrey)” or “from the brushwood meadow,” respectively. Waever, which means “brushwood,” or waefre, which means “flickering, unstable, restless, roving,” and leah, which means “meadow, clearing.”
Xylo
According to its Greek etymology, Xylo means “wood” or “forest.”
Yardley
This Old English name comes from “yard,” which means “branch, twig, pole, stick” and leah, which means forest or clearing.
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Girls Names that Mean Forest
Alani
The word Alani means ‘valuable’ or ‘orange tree.’ It is a Hawaiian name that is primarily given to girls.
Althea
Healer and wholesome are two words that come to mind while thinking of this name. Althea (Old English: Alea) is a female given name in England. It is a variant of the Greek name Althaea, which is possibly related to the Greek term althos (“healing”).
John Milton alluded to the term in Lycidas after Richard Lovelace used it in a sonnet (“To Althea, From Prison”).
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Anthea
From the Greek (Antheia), which is derived from (anthos), which means “flower, blossom.” This was a Greek goddess Hera’s epithet.
Aranya
It is derived from Sanskrit (aranya), which means “forest, wild forest,” and represents fertility, abundance, plenty, greenery, and kindness. In Thailand, it is a feminine name, however in India and Bangladesh, it is a masculine name.
Artea
Arte is a Basque name derived from the word arte.
In Basque, the word arte has numerous meanings, including “holm oak,” “art; of art,” “time; instant; span of time,” “patience,” and “difference; contrast.”
Artea is most likely a reference to the holm oak as a given name, as “nature names” were once popular in Basque culture and were resurrected in the twentieth century. Furthermore, holm oaks held a special role in Basque folklore; they were traditionally placed at the entrance to farmsteads to safeguard the home and its occupants.
Asiza
Asiza is a name that comes from Arabic culture and means “forest soul.”
Autumn
Autumn is a pleasant season with cold weather that is derived from the Latin word autumnus. Since the 1960s, this name has been widely used.
Ava
Ava is predominantly a Latin-derived female name that means “like a bird.”
Aveline
The name Aveline can be found in in English, French, and German-speaking countries. Its origin derives from Germanic roots and means ‘little bird, strength, sought.’
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Ayla
The name Ayla is predominantly a female Hebrew name that means “Oak Tree.”
Ayla is commonly associated with “moonlight,” but it can also refer to a “halo” in general. In Turkish, “ay” means “moon,” hence “Ayla” means “halo surrounding the moon.”
Azahar (Rare)
In Spanish, it means “orange blossom,” and it comes from the Arabic word (zahrah), which means “flower.” It comes from the Virgin Mary’s title, Nuestra Seora del Azahar, which means “Our Lady of the Orange Blossom,” in reference to the citrus trees that surround a cathedral dedicated to her near Murcia.
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Bahargül
Derived from the Turkmen words bahar, which means “spring,” and gül, which means “flower, rose” (both roots ultimately of Persian origin).
Bel
The name Bel means ‘sacred wood’. This is a gender-neutral Indian name. In addition, Bel can also be considered as a name with Hebrew, Latin, and Italian roots. And, Bel is also a Latin name that is a variation of Arabella.
Betulia
Betulia is a Hebrew girl name with the meaning “Birch-tree Garden.”
Caileigh
This French name means “from the woods.”
Daisy
The English word for a white flower found in the woods, which is derived from the Old English dgeseage, which means “day’s eye.”
It was originally adopted as a given name in the nineteenth century, about the same time as plenty of other plants and floral names.
Diana
Diana is mostly a feminine name that means Divine. Diana was a Roman deity who was corresponded to Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon, hunting, forests, and childbirth.
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Dresden
The name of the German city comes from the Old Sorbian Drežďany, which means “people of the riverside woodland.”
Dryad
In Greek mythology, a dryad is a tree nymph or tree spirit. Dryads are specifically the nymphs of oak trees, although the term has come to be applied for tree nymphs in general, or human-tree hybrids in fiction. Drys means “oak” in Greek.
Ebony
The black wood that originates from the ebony tree is called ebony in English. Its origins can be traced back to the Egyptian term hbnj. This name is most commonly used by black parents in the United States.
Fauna
Fauna is the female version of Faunus. This Latin word refers to animals found in a specific habitat, such as the forest.
Fun fact: Fauna was a Roman goddess of fertility, women, and healing who was Faunus’s daughter and companion.
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Hyacinth
The name Hyacinth is predominantly a feminine Greek name that means “flower.”
Hyakinthos was the name of a young man who, according to Greek legend, was adored by Apollo, and when he died, his blood grew a flower that was named after him. It is now more typically used as a girl’s name. The name could have originally referred to a gemstone, such as sapphire.
Idra
In Aramaic, it means “fig tree.”
Iva
In South Slavic, it means “willow tree.”
Jade
This gorgeous, cool, deep green stone reminds me of the forest. It comes from the Spanish (piedra de la) ijada, which means “flank stone,” and refers to the notion that placing jade on a baby’s stomach might cure colic. During the 1970s, it became popular as a given name. It was once unisex, but it is now primarily female.
Karri
Australian Aboriginal name for the Eucalyptus Tree.
Lark
The name Lark is generally a female name from the United States, and it means “songbird.”
Laurie
Laurie is largely a gender-neutral English name with the meaning Laurel. It is mostly used for girls nowadays. Of course, you may also know similar names like Laura, Lauren, Lori, and Laureen.
Silva
In Portuguese-speaking nations like Portugal and Brazil, Silva is a surname. It comes from the Latin word “silva,” which means “forest,” “woodland,” or “spirit of the woods.” Silvanus was a fabled woodland god in Greek legend. Similar names include Silvana and Silvia.
Terra
Terra is a variant of Tara, possibly influenced by the Latin term terra, which means “land, earth.”
Related post: Names That Mean Earth
Vanisa
Vanisa is the goddess of the forest in Hindu mythology.
Wren
An English term for a little bird that can be found in abundance in the woodland. It comes from the Old English word wrenna.
Xyleena
The girl’s name Xyleena is a Greek name that means “one who lives in the forest.”
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Gender Neutral Baby Names that Means Forest
Ash
Ashley in abbreviated form. It could alternatively be derived from an English word that refers to an ash tree or the remains of a fire.
Ashley
From a mix of Old English sc and leah, an English surname that originally came from place names meaning “ash tree clearing.” It was typically given to males in the United States until the 1960s, but it is currently more often given to girls.
Aspen
The name comes from Hebrew culture and has become popular due to its gender-neutral nature. It refers to a well-known tree.
This name is derived from Old English spe. It’s also the name of a Colorado ski resort.
Briar
Briar is a gender-neutral name of English origin that means Bush or Small Tree.
Cedar
The English word meaning a coniferous tree, is of Greek origin.
Clover
Clover is predominantly a feminine English name meaning Meadow Flower.
Faunus
Faunus is a Latin word that means “god of forests.” The horned Roman god of fertility, forests, and agriculture was known as Faunus.
Faunus, also known as ‘di indigetes,’ was one of the first Roman gods. He was thought to be a mythological Latin ruler. It’s from here that we got the word ‘fawn,’ which is the term for a young deer.
Ilana
Ilana is a feminine Hebrew given name that means “tree.”
Kezia
The name Kezia is predominantly a female Hebrew name meaning “tree bark.” Kezia was Job’s second daughter in the Bible.
Kimberly
Kimberly is a typical English name that can be given to either a boy or a girl, but it is most usually given to a girl these days. Kimberly means “from the royal forest wood” or “from the royal fortress meadow,” making it an ideal name for little queens and monarchs as well as nature-loving families.
Lynn
An English surname derived from the Welsh word llyn, which means “lake.” It was mostly used for boys until the turn of the twentieth century, but it has recently become more popular for girls.
It also comes from the English language and means “lovely jade green forest.”
Mori
Mori is a Japanese word, which is spelled in a variety of ways, but most commonly with a character that means ‘forest,’ and referring to the sacred grove that surrounds a Shinto shrine. In the Shinsen shojiroku, the character used to identify the name denotes ‘guard’ or ‘keeper.’
Moriko
(mori) means “forest” and (ko) means “kid” in Japanese. There are several other kanji pairings that can be used.
Oakley
Oakley is a gender-neutral English name that means “oak tree forest.” The surname was derived from an English surname.
Olive, Oliver
This Latin name means “olive tree,” and it refers to extending an olive branch, which is a symbol of peace.
Parker
Parker is an English name that means “keeper of the forest.” It’s a great name for a boy or a girl.
Perrie
Perrie is a French name that means “pear tree” in English. Perrie is a unisex name, albeit there are more girls than boys with this name. It’s also a variant spelling of Perry, a French boy’s name with the same meaning.
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River
River is largely a gender-neutral English name that refers to a stream of water that frequently flows through the woodland.
Sage
The herb that grows organically in woodlands, and is of English origin.
Seda
Seda is a female Armenian name that means “Spirit Of The Forest.”
In Turkish, it also means “voice, echo.”
Sierra
It’s the Spanish term for “saw” or “mountain range,” and it connotes power and stability. It comes from the northern Spanish areas of Galicia and Asturias.
In California, you’ll find the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
Sequoia
The name comes from the name of a large tree that grows in California. Sequoyah (also recognized as George Guess), a 19th-century Cherokee scholar and developer of the Cherokee writing system, gave the tree his name.
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More Names That Mean Forest
Last Names That Mean Forest:
- Forester
- Forrest
- Foster
- Deforest
- Forestier
- Ardelean
- Basurto
- Bezuidenhout
- Bosch
- Bosco
- Del Bosque
- Dubois
- Erdős
- Forst
- Förstner German
- Fujimori
- Greenwood
- Grünberg
- Grünewald
- Gwózdek
- Hayashi
- Hayward
- Holt
- Holzknecht
- Im
- Kobayashi
- Lehtonen
- Lin
- Linwood
- Mori
- Morimoto
- Morishita
- Moriyama
- Robles
- Roscoe
- Salo
- Sandoval
- Schoorl
- Silva
- Silveira
- Skov
- Skovgaard
- Soto
- Van Houten
- Waldvogel
- Walton
- Wood
- Woodward
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What Name Means Woodland?
- Ainsley (unisex)
- Avonlea (female)
- Barclay (male)
- Bentley (male)
- Blakeley (female)
- Everly (female)
- Harley (unisex)
- Hartley (unisex)
- Huxley (male)
- Stanley (male)
- Waverly (unisex)
- Wesley (male)
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Names that mean forest spirit
- Anito – nature spirits that live in trees in Phillipine mythology
- Annikki – Finnish forest spirit
- Druantia – tree goddess popular with neopagans
- Caïssa – fictional dryad and goddess of chess. Her name is pronounced “Ka-ee-sah”
- Dryad and Hamadryad – Greek tree and forest spirits. Some specific tree dryads and hamadryads
- Karya (walnut or hazelnut)
- Balanos (oak)
- Kraneia (dogwood)
- Morea (mulberry)
- Aigeiros (black poplar)
- Ptelea (elm)
- Ampelos (vines)
- Syke (fig)
- Atlanteia
- Chrysopeleia
- Phoebe
- Byblis
- Dryope
- Heliades
- Hesperides
- Erato
- Eurydice
- Phigalia
- Sagaritis
- Tithorea
- Haltia- spirits in Finnish folklore that live in every forest, river, flower, swamp, etc.
- Hathor, The Lady of the Sycamore in the Old Kingdom of Egypt
- Jinmenju – a tree with fruits bearing human faces in Japanese myth
- Kodama and Kurozome, spirits of the Japanese cherry tree
- Kukunochi – Japanese tree spirit
- Lauma – nature goddess or tree spirit in Baltic mythology
- Lempo – malevolent Finnish forest spirit
- Meliae – nymphs of the ash tree in Greek myth
- Querquetulanae – Roman nymphs of the oak grove
- Salabhanjika – Hindu tree nymphs
- Tuutikki – Finnish forest spirit
Sources: Fairy Chamber
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Famous Forest Names
- The Amazon Rainforest – Brazil and Peru
- The Araucaria Forest – Chile
- Avenue of the Baobabs – Madagascar
- Białowieża Forest – Poland and Belarus
- The Black Forest (Schwarzwald) – Germany
- Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest – California
- Congo Basin Forest – Africa
- Daintree Rainforest – Australia
- Gondwana Rainforest – Australia
- Lacandon Jungle – Mexico
- Mau Forest – Kenya
- Miombo Woodlands – Africa
- Monteverde Cloud Forest – Costa Rica
- The Petrified Forest
- Sequoia Forests – California
- Sundarbands – India
- Taiga Boreal Forest – Russia
- The Takayna/Tarkine Forest – Tasmania, Australia
- Tongass National Forest – Alaska
- Valdivian Rainforest – South America
- Waipoua Forest – New Zealand
- Yakushima Forest – Japan
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Wrap Up- Names That Mean Forest
We hope some of these names that mean forest have grown on you and that you’re frond of some of them! We will leaf you to tree which is best!