You have a really fun style.
[name]Heron[/name] [name]Heron[/name] is one of the few avian names that is staying firmly masculine without being a caricature (i.e. [name]Falcon[/name]). I love its gentle sounds and imagery. It sounds very good with a variety of names.
[name]Shiloh[/name] While the meaning, and historical association, is in no way exclusively feminine, the celebrity baby has unfortunately swung this over to the girls. If you pair it with anything except an obviously masculine middle name, I think people will assume your [name]Shiloh[/name] is female.
[name]Soren[/name] Good old Kierkegaard. He was the melancholy [name]Dane[/name] with a snappy modern name. I like the sounds, and its famous bearer certainly doesn’t hurt.
Zealand- this is cool. I’ve never seen it even suggested as a name, but it immediately felt right. I think this could be a very strong, quirky contender-- unless you’re actually a kiwi, in which case it’s excessively patriotic.
[name]Fletcher[/name]-- I like the down-home vibe of [name]Fletcher[/name], but I too don’t care for the thick fl- sound (not really heard since the days of [name]Floyd[/name] and [name]Florine[/name]) or the nickname [name]Fletch[/name], which to my ear is very close to both fetch and retch.
[name]Sirius[/name]- the pole star, ‘true north,’… and an XM radio network. What’s that you say? [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name]? Right, that too… unfortunately this name will be dominated by [name]Sirius[/name] [name]Black[/name] for at least the next decade. Up to you if that bothers you.
[name]River[/name] I like this. It’s been long enough after [name]River[/name] [name]Phoenix[/name] to see this as a fresh, unusual choice.
Creek- I get that you wanted a riparian association but feared that [name]River[/name] was overused. Unfortunately, I don’t think Creek hits all the marks-- it’s a little too abrupt, and has an unfortunate homonym ‘creak.’ Finally, you have to be really careful what you put in front of it, because it can sound like a place name. “[name]Shiloh[/name] Creek” sounds like a creek named [name]Shiloh[/name]. [name]River[/name] is accepted enough in naming tradition that it avoids this problem, imo.
[name]Hayes[/name]- I like the folksy surname [name]Hayes[/name]; it’s like [name]Brooks[/name] minus the pinstripes.
[name]Heath[/name]- wild Scottish wastes. And a candy bar, and an Australian actor who drugged himself to death. Unsure which association dominates here in the US, but fear it’s the latter.
[name]Jesse[/name] old-timey without feeling dusty, and carries a definite Southern/[name]Wild[/name] [name]West[/name] vibe. By far the most name-y selection on your list.
[name]Archer[/name]- this name is everywhere now. I think it’s going to become as popular as [name]Avery[/name].
From your list, I would keep [name]Heron[/name], [name]Soren[/name], Zealand, [name]River[/name], [name]Hayes[/name], and [name]Jesse[/name].
Nature Names
[name]Beech[/name]
Alder
[name]Birch[/name]
[name]Spruce[/name]
[name]Beck[/name] (a small stream)
[name]Firth[/name]
[name]Shade[/name]
[name]Sorrel[/name]
[name]Vermilion[/name]
[name]Bayou[/name]
[name]Teale[/name]
Driftwood
[name]Drake[/name]
[name]Branch[/name]
[name]Canyon[/name]
[name]Cedar[/name]
[name]Cypress[/name]
Rill
[name]Tide[/name]
[name]Balsam[/name]
[name]Hawthorn/name
Southern/Western
[name]Lafayette[/name]
Cottonwood
[name]Laramie[/name]
Gallatin
Bluestone
Humboldt
Salinas
Stillwater
Bitterroot
Blackstone
[name]Cimarron[/name]
Clearwater
Catalpa (a type of tree indigenous to the South)
Hickory
Ironwood
[name]Do[/name] you like any of these?
