Dear Diary,

If you’re becoming a mom this summer, you don’t have to look far for inspiration for baby names. Just look out the window! The bright sun, fragrant flowers and calming sea can spark ideas. When we found out we were expecting, our friends, family and mother nature helped us narrow down our list. There were a few things that were important to us: we both had to like the name; the name had to bear some significance to us; and the name had to have nickname potential.

For months, my husband and I could not agree on anything. Everything he liked, I didn’t and vice versa. And then suddenly it happened. My husband sent me a random text with the name Ameenah. It was perfect! It’s an anagram of my full name, Naeemah; it follows family tradition in that it is Arabic in origin and ends in ‘ah’; and it means loyal and trustworthy–both characteristics that we value highly.

Baby names can be inspired by many different things from family members and celebrities to religion to season. Here are my top picks for summer inspired baby names.

Floral

Girls: Ayanna (Beautiful Flower), Clover, Dahlia, Daisy, Flora, Heather, Iris, Rose, Veronica, Willow

Nature/Seasonal

Girls: Augusta, Julia/July, June, Mara/Mariah (of the sea), Meadow, Ruby (June birthstone), Skye, Summer

Boys: August, Damarion (from the sea), Dillan (son of the sea), Dorian (from the sea), Julio, Kai (sea), Lamar (from the sea)

Sunny

Girls: Adena (fire), Aurora (dawn), Calinda (sun), Dawn,Ellen (light), Helen (light), Kyra (the sun), Lena (the bright one), Lily, Nina (goddess of fire), Selena (sister of the sun), Solange (angel of the sun)

Boys: Aiden (little fire), Arun (dawn, sun), Cyrus (of the sun), Dayton (bright and sunny town),Elaina (light) Keegan (little fire), Leo (summer astrological sign), Lucas (light), Nikko (sunlight), Sampson (sun), Tyson (firebrand)

Hey DFTM Fam–Where do you find your inspiration? Did you name your child after someone?