Green Baby Names
Where do you turn if you want to choose a “green” baby name for your
upcoming child – a name that will really embody some aspect of the environmental
movement? It’s a tempting idea – after all, the environmental movement,
like children, is all about our future and the future of the planet.
I saw a “green” baby name list recently that was comprised of names
from nature like Skye, Storm, River, and so forth, and it seemed to me that such
a list misses the mark. Those are "nature" names – a cool category
of baby names, but not “green” in the sense of the modern environmental
movement.
One of the best ways to go green is to choose a baby name from one of the true pioneers
of the environmental movement – to name a child after one of the great environmentalists
who made such important contributions to our knowledge of our world. In their day,
they may have been laughed at as oddballs, jeered as “tree-huggers,”
and generally marginalized. Today, looking back, we can see that they were true
visionaries.
Most of them had fairly ordinary first names. A good way to adopt one of these green
baby names is to use both the first name and last name of a great environmentalist
as the first and middle names for your baby. In most cases, their last names work
beautifully as middle names today!
Here is our list of five green baby names for boys and girls, honoring the pioneers
of the environmental movement. Any child today given such a notable name would surely
have a name for the future.
For boys, where else to start but with
Henry David Thoreau? In this case, Henry David would be all that’s
needed to make the name recognizable. Thoreau, 1817-1862, was an author, a naturalist,
and a philosopher, and his writings on natural history helped plant the seeds of
modern day environmentalism.
Second, consider
Aldo Leopold, 1887-1948. Leopold, the author of the ecological classic,
A Sand County Almanac, was an American ecologist and environmentalist,
and is considered a pioneer in environmental ethics and wilderness preservation.
Third, David
Brower is a name well-known to anyone interested in the history of environmentalism.
Brower, who lived from 1912 to 2000, was an activist and environmentalist who believed
in organizing people. He founded Friends of the Earth, the League of Conservation
Voters, and other environmental organizations.
Fourth, for boys, the name
John Muir would make an outstanding first and middle name combination. Muir,
(1838-1914), is a towering figure of American environmentalism. He was a committed
preservationist who founded the Sierra Club, and his writings are treasured today
as fundamental texts of environmental awareness.
Finally, for boys’ names, the name Edward Abbey, 1927-1989, is a “green”
baby name with a colorful heritage. Abbey, besides being an environmental activist,
was an author. His book, The Monkey Wrench Gang, is a classic of radical
environmental writing.
In the environmental field, girls have their heroes as much as boys do. Here, it
is impossible not to begin the list with perhaps the most famous woman environmentalist
of all time,
Rachel Carson. An American biologist, conservationist, and nature writer,
who lived from 1907 to 1964, Carson is widely credited with helping increase environmental
awareness around the world with her 1962 classic, Silent Spring. Her book
spurred the banning of the pesticide DDT in the United States and helped spark the
modern environmental movement. For baby girl names, it is a happy coincidence that
Carson makes a beautiful middle name!
Second, Jane
Goodall, born 1934, has made her name almost synonymous with conservation. An English
anthropologist and primatologist, Goodall is famous for her lifelong study of chimpanzees
in Tanzania, and internationally recognized for her work in the protection of primates
and their habitats.
Third, Dian
Fossey, 1932 to 1985, is another environmental hero, and sadly one who gave her
life for the cause she cherished. An American zoologist and gorilla expert, and
an ardent conservationist, Fossey was brutally killed in an unsolved murder at her
cabin in the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda, where she had dedicated her life to the
study and preservation of the mountain gorillas.
Fourth, also in Africa, works
Wangari Maathai. Born in 1940, Maathai was the founder of Kenya's Green
Belt Movement, active in battling deforestation in Kenya. She was the recipient
of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for her environmental activism.
Finally, back in the United States, a world away from Africa but driven by similar
passion, was Lois
Gibbs. Born in 1951, Gibbs became a pioneer activist against toxic dumping, spurred
by the notorious Love Canal dumping in Niagara Falls, New York. Gibbs was the founder
of the Love Canal Homeowners Association, which fought hazardous waste dumping in
Niagara Falls. Her work helped established America’s “Superfund,”
the government program responsible for toxic waste cleanup. She went on to become
Executive Director of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice.
These are just a few of the names of the heroes, men and women, who helped build
the evironmental movement in the United States and around the world. Today, as an
energy crisis and global warming beset the planet, the work that these men and women
began is the foundation upon which future environmental action will be built. Nothing
could be more important for the human race. If you are looking for a “green”
baby name this Earth Day, you need look no further than among the humble names of
the movement’s pioneers. Many parents name their children after heroes of
one sort or another. But few will be as meaningful as a name chosen from this particular
group. Like Superman and Superwoman, these heroes truly have helped to “save
the planet.”