Nameberry commemorates Earth Day with this guest blog contributed by Elisabeth Wilborn, creator of one of our favorite blogs, You Can’t Call It “It” .  Elisabeth, a writer, artist, and mom,  lives in Brooklyn, New York

　　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.

　　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

　　Nightengale

　　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

　　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.