Nature names for babies come in all sorts of categories, including butterfly names. If you love the idea of giving your little girl a name with a butterfly meaning, here are some pretty options:
Vanessa: Aside from being a feminine given name, Vanessa is a genus of butterflies. The Red Admirals and the Painted Ladies are familiar representatives of this widely-spread genus.
Doris: When not used as a female given name, Doris is—among other things—a species of butterfly with a striking appearance. Also known as the Doris longwing, this species is distributed from Central America to the Amazon.
Farasha: If you're looking for an exotic girl's name that means butterfly, how about Farasha, the romanization of the Arabic word for butterfly? There's a lot of inaccurate information out there about baby names that supposedly mean "butterfly" in a foreign language, but this one actually checks out.
Cynthia: As a lepidopteran term, Cynthia is no longer taxonomically valid, but it used to refer to a genus/subgenus of butterflies related to the Painted Ladies. As girl's name, Cynthia feels equally outdated but might appeal to some intrepid baby namers looking for a quintessential mid-century moniker.
Mariposa: The Spanish word for "butterfly" doubles as a distinctive girls' name.
Greta: Greta is a retro girls' name with Swedish flair, on top of which it's a genus of clearwing butterflies native to Central and South America.
Leona: This is a doubly zoological name: not only is Leona related to the Latin word leo, meaning "lion", but it's also a genus of skipper butterflies.
Patricia: This old, P-beginning girl name doesn't feel all that tempting at the moment—unless you're a butterfly enthusiast intrigued by the genus of clearwing butterflies called Patricia.
Iliana: This is a genus of skipper butterflies, as well as a beautiful girls' name with international appeal.
Ariadne: Better known as a Greek mythology name, Ariadne also counts as a butterfly name, being the name of a Lepidopteran genus commonly known as castors.
Iolana: Iolana may be a type of butterfly, but it makes for an appealing baby name, too.
Luna: This may be a stretch, but you could say the striking Luna moth inspired your daughter's name. However, for most people Luna will evoke outer space rather than a fluttering creature as the name Luna famously means "moon".
Adelpha: Adelpha is a genus of butterflies found from the southern United States to South America. Who knew?!
Elodina: Borrowed from a genus of beautiful butterflies, Elodina feels perfectly wearable, given the rise of the similar-sounding name Elodie.
Viola: This currently neglected but classic V-name offers musical and floral associations, Shakespearean cachet and—yes—a lepidopteran link via the butterfly genus Viola.
Lucia: Many new parents who choose the name Lucia do so because of its saintly associations, or because of its bright meaning ("light", derived from the Latin word lux). But butterfly-loving parents may have an additional reason to pick this beauty: turns out, Lucia is also the name of a monotypic butterfly genus native to Australia!
Joanna: Better known as a biblical girls' name, Joanna is also a butterfly name, belonging to a genus of skipper butterflies.
Dahlia: The plant genus encompasses a wide range of gorgeous, colorful flowers, while the butterfly genus Dahlia only contains a couple of dull-colored moths. So, if you like the name Dahlia, you may want to go with the floral meaning!
Elina: This classic Finnish girl name is also a butterfly name thanks to the genus Elina which comprises a couple of brush-footed butterflies.
Sabina: The culture-spanning Sabina is a catholic girls' name and a butterfly name (borrowed from a genus of skippers) in one.
Allora: In addition to being an Italian filler word similar to the English "so", Allora is a genus of Australian butterflies—as well as a rare but not completely unheard-of baby name.
Ilma: The butterfly genus Ilma is monotypic, meaning it only contains one species, Ilma irvina.
Zela: This unusual but accessible girls' name has lepidopteran cred from the Southeast Asian skipper genus Zela. The name can also be spelled Zelah, in which case it becomes a biblical place-inspired baby name.
Aurina: If you're looking for a unique name for your baby girl, this genus of skippers is not part of the American baby name lexicon—but sounds wearable.