40 of the best baby names inspired by colours and their meanings

Amber (yellow-orange): The golden coloured precious gemstone, Amber makes a sweet baby name. Although it’s not quite a stone, it’s actually a translucent fossil resin which gets its name from the Arabic `anbar.

Cerise (red): This pretty name comes from the French word cerise which means cherry.

Cherry (red): This sweet and fruity name is delightful. In French, the meaning of the name Cherry is dear one or darling and how perfect is that?!

Cocoa (chocolate): Cocoa is a unisex name that evokes feelings of warmth and comfort. Derives from the powdered form of yummy chocolate.

Coral (pink-orange): The perfect name for ocean lovers, Coral invokes images of colourful reefs and exquisite jewels.

Ebony (black): Ebony has origins in Latin, Greek and Egyptian meaning ‘deep black wood’. Ebony’s smooth finish when polished makes it a very valuable and beautiful ornamental timber, most commonly seen on piano keyboards.

Emerald (green): The birthstone of May, emerald is a rich intriguing colour and the name of jewel born from the deep green precious stone. Treasured as far back as ancient Egypt emerald is believed to to open one’s heart to wisdom and to love and be good for strengthening relationships.

Fawn (yellow-tan): This earthy name also means ‘young deer’ and if you’ve ever seen one, they’re pretty sweet. In Greek mythology the deity of fertility and nature was Fauna and she most famed for her chastity.

Ginger (orange-red): A spicy, fiery name often bestowed upon those with red hair.

Hazel (green-brown): A sweet, earthy unisex name that is derived from the hazelnut tree. It first became a name around the 9th century, when flower and plant names became fashionable.

Indigo (blue-purple): One of the colours in the rainbow spectrum, Indigo derives its name from “blue dye” and is often shortened to Indie.

Ivory (white): The name Ivory has English origin meaning pale or white.

Jade (green): Derived from the gorgeous ornamental stone jade, which is used in artwork and in jewellery. Derived from the Spanish piedra de la ijada, which means stone of the colic. Which makes more sense when you know that people used to believe that when jade was placed on the stomach, it could cure colic in babies.

Lavender (purple): A beautiful name that simply rolls off the tongue, this floral name comes from the lavender plant. The evergreen shrub most likely got its own name from the Old French lavandre meaning to wash.

Olive (green): A name that invokes the idea of peace and peace-giving, Olive is a cute and quirky boho name.

Pearl (white): A gorgeous oceanic name, Pearl is making a comeback with the recent revival of old-fashioned names.

Raven (black): A nature-inspired strong unisex name which, in any language, is derived from the glossy black-haired, crow-like bird.

Ruby (red): The birthstone for the month of July, Ruby has become a popular name in the old-fashioned name revival. The name of the gemstone itself comes from the Latin ruber, meaning red.

Scarlett (red): We all know Scarlett is a type of red, and it gained popularity due to the character Scarlett O’Hara in Margaret Mitchell’s best-selling novel Gone with the Wind and the film adaptation. However it originally became a name referring to a person who sold cloth of scarlet.

Violet (purple): A popular flower name, Violet has Latin origins, meaning purple.

Ash (grey): The nature name, Ash has English origins derived from the ash tree and is perfect for your little wanderer.

Azure (blue): In Old French azur is the color blue. And boy what a shade of blue it is. Azure and lapis lazuli evoke images of the deepest seas and bluest skies.

Blue (no explanation needed!): This unisex name has long been an Australian nickname for someone with red hair, but it saw a surge in popularity as the unusual colour name chosen by Beyonce and Jay-Z for their baby girl Blue Ivy in 2012.

Bruno (brown): In Old French brun is a polished, shiny, brown colour and it inspired the strong name Bruno.

Carmine (red): A unisex name of Latin origin meaning ‘song’. Carmine also means purplish red from an Aramaic word meaning crimson.

Cobalt (blue): One of the more masculine names that have been born from the blue palette (Blue, Azure, Cerulean, Teal, Aqua, Cyan, Indigo) it’s proven popular as an unique name for a boy.

Copper (orange-red): Copper gets its name from the Latin word Cuprum, meaning from the island of Cyprus. In the Ancient Roman world (whose common language was Latin), most copper was mined in Cyprus.

Cyan (blue): Cyan is a highly unusual blue-green colour name and joins some pretty cool names that have been pulled from the blue spectrum (Blue, Azure, Cerulean, Teal, Aqua, Cobalt, Indigo). Shorten it to Cy for a pretty sweet nickname.

Garnet (red): Derived from the blood red gemstone, which in turn was named for the pomegranate seeds that the garnet crystals resemble.

Gray (grey): Gray is a name for those whose ancestors come from the noble Boernician clans of the Scottish-English border region.

Moss (green): Rich and earthy, Moss is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived near a peat bog.

Onyx (black): A strong unisex name, Onyx is type of gemstone with bands of dark colour.

Red (red): If you’re after a fiery name, you really can’t go past Red. Synonymous with the colour of fire and strong emotions, Red is a super-strong name for your little warrior child.

Roux (red): For a gentler take on this fiery name, you could hop for the French version, Roux.

Rusty (orange-red-brown): A shortened version of Ruston, Rusty is often bestowed as a nickname for someone with red hair or a ruddy complexion, but it makes for a super-cute first name too!

Slate (blue-grey): A strong nature name, Slate is a fine-grained grey, green, or bluish metamorphic rock that is easily split into smooth, flat pieces.

Sterling (silver): Just like the silver jewellery that takes its name, Sterling means of pure, high quality.

Sunny (orange-yellow-red): A happy, unisex name Sunny bring about cheerful thoughts of the feeling that comes when the sun is shining.

Teal (green-blue): A sweet nature name, that works as a unisex moniker. Teal evokes thoughts of precious stones and clear swimming holes.

Topaz (yellow gold): Topaz can range in colour from colourless, blue, champagne, yellow, orange, red and pink, but in it’s truest form is often a beautiful golden colour.