
75 Desert Names Inspired by the Desert Landscape
These are our favorite boy, girl, and gender-neutral names inspired by the desert.
Updated November 17, 2022
Finding a name inspired by the desert for your little one can be a creative way to come up with a unique and meaningful name.
Nature-inspired names like desert names are gaining popularity in recent years. The wide-open spaces of the desert, paired with its distinct arid weather, give way to inspiration for many brilliant names. The desert is also home to a variety of fauna and flora for ideas!
Did you know that not all deserts are hot? Antarctica is actually considered a cold desert! Ed Sheeran, an English musician, actually named his daughter Lyra Antarctica in 2020. A desert is defined as a place that receives less than ten inches of precipitation (rain) a year, whether that place is hot or cold.
Related: 75 Earthy Boy Names for Your Little One
Why Choose a Desert Name for Your Baby?

Whether you’re looking for a desert name to remind you of your favorite trail, are in love with succulents, or just want something different for your little one, we’ve compiled a list of the best baby names for girls and boys inspired by the desert to help!
“I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams...”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
Below you’ll find desert names for boys and girls as well as sand and desert-themed names inspired by the plant life, desert towns, and even the feelings the deserts bring out in us!
Desert Names for Girls

- Arizona - From the state in North America, an obvious yet fitting name for your baby girl
- Cleopatra - Greek, can shorten to “Cleo”, like the Egyptian Queen!
- Pyla - After the largest sand dune in Europe
- Seri - Named after an indigenous tribe that’s associated with Sonoran Desert
- Sandy or Sandra - Another obvious choice for desert lovers
- Tomesha - Native American name, means “ground afire”
- Bast - An Egyptian goddess, daughter of the sun god and associated with protection and cats.
- Phaedra - Greek, meaning “bright”, like the sun in the desert!
- Amaterasu - Japanese name, goddess of the sun
- Ari - Hebrew name, means lion, lions are one of the animals in the Sahara Desert!
- Atacama - Named after the driest desert in the world from Chile
- Boa - After a desert rosy boa snake that lives in the Mojave Desert
- Bosa - Old English name meaning “clearing or glade”
- Dykuma - Lithuanian name for “desert”
- Gila - After the river that runs through New Mexico and Arizona
- Hesperia - Greek, “land of the setting sun”
- Johona - Navajo name meaning “the sun”
- Leona - Latin, “lion”
- Sahara - The largest hot desert in the world, found in North Africa’s Morrocco
- Kalahari - This is the name of a desert in Africa meaning “the great thirst”
- Sonora - A Mexican state boarded by Chihuahuan Desert means “pleasant sounding”
- Sunny/Sunshine - Obvious choice, this is a beautiful name for a baby girl that lights up your life!
- Magdalena - Part of the Sonoran Desert
- Savannah - Spanish, means “treeless plain” but definitely makes us think of the South
- Daenerys - Popularized by Game of Thrones, “lady of light” or “lady of hope”, the character spent plenty of time crossing deserts
- Angola - Located on the west coast of South Africa, this place is another known for their deserts
- Nevada - Another state in North America where desert covers land
- Asia - Greek, means “Sunrise”
- Namibia - For the Namib Desert, the oldest in the world!
- Sinai - Hebrew, “from the clay desert”
- Kuuma - Finnish for “hot”
Desert Names for Boys

- Gobi - Indian name meaning “happy”
- Jack - After the jackrabbits that run around in the deserts
- Audun - Means “deserted”
- Aster - After the Mojave aster plant
- Altan - Mongolian name meaning “golden” just like that desert sun!
- Erden - Also from Mongolia meaning “treasure”
- Rayan - From Pakistan meaning “brilliant; bright, and radiant”
- Auraq - Also from Pakistan meaning “sand or dust colored”
- Basin - After the Great Basin National Park in the desert of Nevada
- Yemen/Yamin - A country in south Saudia Arabia, this comes from the Arabic word for “south” which is often associated with heat
- Kahli - From the biggest desert of the Arabian Peninsula, this means “eternal”
- Edan - Hebrew, means “fire”
- Joshua - This name can be common, but it might surprise you to find out that the Joshua Tree National Park is a place you can go to visit both the Mojave and Colorado deserts at once!
- Saguaro - When you think of a cactus, the saguaro cactus is the common one to come to mind. It would make for a unique baby boy name!
- Clay - Can have a lot of different meanings, but for this piece, we’ll equate it with the sands covering the desert!
- Marudeva - Hindi, “lord of the desert”
- Nero - Latin, “powerful”
- Grannus - The Celtic god of fire and sun, great for a strong baby boy
- Barren - Speaks to the emptiness of the desert
- Brick - You can’t make bricks without sand!
- Addax - After the white antelope that runs the desert in Africa
- Darwin - Only the strongest survive the desert!
- Hopper - Named after the locusts that populate the desert world
- Javier - Spanish, meaning “bright”
- Lawrence - Inspired by Lawrence of Arabia. A great choice for boys!
- Molopo - Named after the river running through the Kalahari Desert
- Ordos - A desert in China
- Oryx - A species of gazelle that lives in some deserts
- Tucson - A state in Arizona, a desert state
- Thar - After the Thar Desert in Pakistan, “ice”
- Soloman - “Man of peace”
- Moreno - Spanish name, can be shortened to “Reno” for the city in Nevada or means “brown haired”
- Rocky - Most desert lands are rock
- Khufu - After the great Egyptian pharaoh
Desert Names That Are Gender-Neutral

- Acacia - Greek, “thorny tree”
- Jordan - A river that runs through the desert-like plains of Israel
- Sage - After the common desert sage that grows wild despite the environment
- Arid - Describes the dry air of the desert
- Tequila - The name may be very different, but if you’re a fan of the stuff, it’s made from the agave plant that grows in the desert!
- Zuni - Native American name, “beauty” after the Zuni tribe in New Mexico
- Ryn - Welsh name, “ruler”, like the many ancient rulers of the deserts
- Thorn - For obvious reasons, this an ode to those prickly cactus
- Sphinx - Like the great sphinx found in the deserts of Egypt!
- Phoenix - After the mythical bird and means “deep red”
For more baby name inspiration check out these popular baby name lists:
- 150 Cute Nicknames for Your Baby Girl
- Top 1000 Most Popular Baby Girl Names in the U.S
- Top 1000 Most Popular Baby Boy Names in the U.S
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About Samantha
Samantha is a writer and mother who has a background in Special Education. She offers a… Read more