What names come from trees and forests?

Ilan means "tree" in Hebrew, while Sylvia has a meaning connected with woodland. Sylvia comes through Silvia and Silvius from Latin silva, "wood" or "forest".

Explore the names below and follow any name to its full history.

Keith Scottish · wood, forest

Sylvia Latin · "of the forest, wood"

Darragh Irish · oak tree

Ilan Hebrew · tree

Ilana Hebrew · tree

Elan Hebrew · tree; a graceful modern Hebrew name

Sylvester Latin · of the forest

Silvia Latin · of the forest

Elwood English · old forest

Forrest English · woodsman, one who lives near the forest; immortalized by Forrest Gump in Forrest Gump (1994)

Sylvan Latin · 'of the forest, wooded', from Latin silva

Naoki Japanese · straight, direct tree

Cedar English · from the cedar tree

Silas Latin · biblical name, probably a short form of Silvanus; its deeper origin is uncertain

Olive Latin · from the olive tree/branch

Oakleigh English · feminine variant of Oakley, from a surname and place name meaning "oak clearing" in Old English

Hiroki Japanese · great brightness, or great tree

Oakley English · from a surname and place names meaning "oak clearing" in Old English; famously borne by sharpshooter Annie Oakley

Olivier French · olive tree

Alani Hawaiian · possibly from Hawaiian ʻalani, "orange tree or fruit", or related to Alana

Maple English · nature name, from the maple tree

Tomer Hebrew · palm tree; a modern Israeli favorite

Defne Turkish · laurel, bay tree

Willow English · willow tree

Silva Latin · from Latin silva, forest; the most common surname in Brazil, a Portuguese classic, and a feminine given name in Armenia

Boyce English · An English and Norman surname from Old French bois, wood, given to someone who lived by a forest

Acton English · An English place name meaning settlement by the oak trees; famously borne by Acton Bell, the name Anne Bronte published Agnes Grey under.

Elon Hebrew · biblical name meaning 'oak tree'

Alona Hebrew · feminine form of Alon, 'oak tree'

Oaklee English · modern coined name blending oak with the surname suffix -lee (clearing)

Keziah Hebrew · cassia, a spice tree; biblical daughter of Job

Randa Arabic · scented tree

Aspen English · from the aspen tree / place name

Aritz Basque · oak tree (Basque); the oak is the Basque symbol of liberty, which is most of the reason the name is used

Sylas Latin · phonetic respelling of Silas, of the forest

Daron Uncertain · Usually taken as a variant of Darren, Irish Darragh, oak tree; identical spellings exist as an unrelated Armenian and Persian name.

Sherwood English · An English place name, scir wudu, shire wood, famous as Robin Hood's forest, later a surname and given name

Ashley English · ash tree meadow

Olivia Latin · exact meaning not established by the sources behind this page; documented in English records with names written in Latin by the late 13th century, before Shakespeare

Laverne French · from 'la Verne,' the alder tree, or Latin vernus, 'spring-like'

Linden English · 'lime tree', a nature and surname name

Tung Vietnamese · pine tree, a symbol of the steadfast gentleman; written Tùng

Sylvie French · form of Sylvia, "of the forest"

Oren Hebrew · traditionally 'pine tree'

Aspyn English · phonetic respelling of Aspen, the tree/place name

Elmore English · An English surname and place name from Old English elm, the tree, and ofer, riverbank, the bank where elms grew.

Foster English · occupational surname, traditionally 'forester' or 'keeper of the forest'

Oaklyn English · variant of Oakley, 'oak clearing', with the name suffix lyn

Rowyn Irish · variant of Rowan, 'little red-haired one' / the rowan tree

Arden English · from an English surname taken from various place names, from a Celtic word meaning 'high'

Hadassah Hebrew · myrtle tree; biblical name of Queen Esther

Song Chinese · varies by character: often 松, 'pine tree', or 颂, 'ode, hymn'; a quiet single-syllable classic

Hollie English · holly tree

Erez Hebrew · cedar, the great tree of Lebanon; a modern Israeli favorite

Linwood English · English place name/surname, 'linden tree grove'

Roscoe English · deer forest (place name)

Tapio Finnish · the forest god of the Kalevala, called the King of the Forest; the name's roots are debated among scholars

Darren Irish · traditionally linked to Irish 'darragh', meaning 'oak tree'

Acacia Greek · the acacia tree, a symbol of immortality and resurrection

Magnolia Latin · magnolia tree

Piyali Bengali · a fragrant flowering Bengali tree/vine; also the name of a river near the Sundarbans in West Bengal

Mahogany English · from the mahogany tree, prized for its rich reddish-brown wood

Nash English · surname, "dweller by the ash tree"

Ives English · yew tree (Old French if)

Vonnie French · Pet form of Yvonne or Yvette, from Old French Ivo, yew tree, a wood long linked to archery.

Holly English · the holly tree, a symbol of Christmas (nature name); immortalized by Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

Almeda Spanish · From Spanish alameda, poplar grove or tree-lined avenue; related to the surname Almeida.

Lynwood English · English place name and surname from Old English lind (lime tree) and wudu (wood).

Tellervo Finnish · a forest goddess of the Kalevala, daughter of Tapio and Mielikki; the name's exact origin is debated, possibly echoing Pellervo for alliteration

Perry English · from Old English 'pirige' (pear tree); also a diminutive of Peter or Peregrine

Laurel Latin · 'laurel tree', from Latin laurus

Elowyn Welsh · variant of Elowen, "elm tree" in Cornish (a recently coined Cornish name)

Juniper Latin · juniper tree

Evon French, from Germanic · a variant of Yvonne, the French feminine form of Yves, from Germanic iw, yew tree

Eldon English · meaning uncertain, English place name (possibly elder-tree hill)

Daphne Greek · laurel tree

Tamar Hebrew · date palm tree

Iwona Polish · Polish feminine form of Yves: yew tree

Meilin Chinese · beautiful jade forest (美琳)

Alyvia Latin · modern respelling of Olivia, traditionally 'olive tree'

Sylwia Polish · Polish form of Silvia: of the forest (Latin silva)

Oliwier Polish · olive tree (Polish spelling of Oliver, a 2020s Poland favorite)

Elana Hebrew · 'tree' (variant of Ilana); also used as a form of Helen

Amber Arabic · from the gemstone amber (fossilized tree resin), ultimately Arabic 'anbar'

Birk Norwegian · A Scandinavian nature name meaning birch tree; famously borne by Birk Ruud, the Norwegian Olympic big air freeskiing champion.

Evonne French · a variant spelling of Yvonne, feminine form of Yves, from a Germanic word for yew tree

Tsz-Hin Cantonese · catalpa tree and loftiness (梓軒); everywhere among Hong Kong boys born in the 2000s and 2010s, the male counterpart to Tsz-Ching's generation of girls

Kazuki Japanese · meaning depends on the kanji chosen, often 'harmony tree' or 'radiant tree'

Berkley English · place name/surname meaning 'birch tree meadow'

Ashleigh English · a historical spelling variant of Ashley, from Old English aesc, ash tree, plus leah, meadow or clearing; originally an English surname

Which of these fits YOUR family? →