102 Gemstone Names for Your Baby
If you're hunting for a baby name that feels both grounded and a little magical, you might want to look beyond popular baby name lists and into your jewelry box. Gemstone names, like Ruby, Jasper, Onyx, and Pearl, carry centuries of symbolism, from healing energy to inner strength. Whether you're drawn to the cool calm of Jade or the fiery flair of Garnet, there's a gem name to match every child (even if you haven't met them yet).
And like the stones themselves, these names range from classic and polished to raw and unexpected. Here are some of our favorite gem-inspired names (plus meanings and origins) to help you find the perfect fit for your newborn.
Origin: Persian/Greek
Meaning: 'Bringer of treasure'
Alternative Spellings & Variations: Jaspar, Jesper, Gaspar
Origin: Greek
Meaning: 'Claw' or 'fingernail'
Variations: Onix, OnexBlack onyx is the most popular choice for jewelry, however most black onyx on the market is artificial. Natural black onyx is so rare that manufactures dye quartz to achieve a similar look.Origin: Old English
Meaning: 'Hard quartz stone'
Variations: None common, but Flynn is a stylistic alternative
Origin: English
Meaning: 'Black mineral gemstone'
Variations: Jett
Origin: Middle English (via Old French and Latin)
Meaning: 'Dark red gemstone'
Variations: Garnett, Garnette
Origin: Greek
Meaning: 'Light green semi-precious stone'
Variations: Berril, Beril
Origin: English
Meaning: 'Gray metamorphic rock'
Variations: Slayte, Slade
Origin: Latin
Meaning: 'Reddish-orange stone'
Variations: Cornelian, Carney, Leon
Origin: French/Arabic
Meaning: 'Sky blue'
Variations: Azuriel, Azul, Azure
Origin: English
Meaning: 'Excellent' or 'high-quality'
Variations: Sterlyn, Sturling
Malachite
Coal
Alabaster
Hematite
Zircon
Agate
Amberon
Basalt
Seraphinite
Cobal
Stone
Chrysos
Dravite
Tektite
Halite
Eilat
Thulite
Jereme
Hauyne
Axinite
Taaffe
Voltara
Origin: Latin
Meaning: 'Red gemstone'
Variations: Rubi, Rubie, Ruba
Origin: Latin
Meaning: 'Precious white gem'
Variations: Perla, Perlette (French), Margaret (means 'pearl' in Greek)Pearls symbolize purity and innocence.Origin: Sanskrit (upala, 'precious stone')
Meaning: 'Iridescent gemstone'
Variations: Opaline, Opalia, Opalline
Origin: Arabic
Meaning: 'Golden fossilized resin"
Variations: Ambre, Ambar, Amberly
Origin: Hebrew/Greek
Meaning: 'Blue gemstone'
Variations: Saphira, Safira, Sapphira
Origin: Spanish
Meaning: 'Emerald' or 'Green gemstone'
Variations: Esme, Esmée, Emeralda
Origin: Latin
Meaning: 'Sea-born gemstone'
Variations: Coraline, Cora, Koral
Origin: French
Meaning: 'A precious stone' or 'Something treasured'
Variations: Jewelle, Jewell
Origin: Old French
Meaning: 'Beloved' or 'Esteemed'
Variations: Esmee, Esma
Amethyst
Diamond
Emerald
Lapis
Seraphina
Roselle
Celestine
Tanzanite
Sapphira
Tourmaline
Zaira
Crystal
Chalcedony
Andalusite
Danburite
Elbaite
Feldspar
Galena
Ilvaite
Jacinth
Larimar
Marcasite
Nephrite
Obsidia
Petalite
Rhodonite
Topazi
Vivianite
Vesuvia
Viitaniemi
Zircona
Origin: German
Meaning: 'A silicone dioxide crystal'
Variations: Quarz, Quartzon
Origin: Greek
Meaning: 'Precious stone'
Variations: Topazia, Topaziel, Topy
Origin: Persian/Latin (lapis lazuli)
Meaning: 'Sky blue' or 'Shining stone'
Variations: Lapis, Azul, Azura, Laz
Origin: English
Meaning: 'Smoldering coal' or 'spark'
Variations: Embry, Emberly, Ambre
Origin: Greek/Latin
Meaning: "A deep blue dye"
Variations: Indie, IndigoaIndigo has a rich history and was often used to dye textiles in ancient times. It was most famously used to color denim.Origin: Spanish/French
Meaning: 'Sky blue'
Variations: Azur, Azul, Azure, Azurine
Origin: Spanish
Meaning: 'Stone of the flank'
Variations: Jayde, Jaide, Jadon
Origin: Latin
Meaning: 'A yellow to golden-orange variety of quartz'
Variations: Citron, Citrena, Citrina, Citra
Origin: Greek
Meaning: 'A shimmering gemstone that reflects the sun'
Variations: Sunniva, Sunny, Sola, Solen, Sunna
Origin: Latin
Meaning: 'Volcanic glass'
Variations: Obsi, Obsidia, Obie, Sidian
Amari
Ametrine
Almandine
Turquoise
Spinel
Kyanite
Iolite
Heliodor
Zircon
Aventurine
Peridot
Azurite
Kornerupine
Cavansite
Iolite
Milarite
Okena
Clino
Tenebrite
Bastna
Cryolite
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Over the course of the novel, she struggles to recount the Parisian photo shoot and her affair with K. The history is 'made up mostly of forgetting, just as the body is composed mostly of water,' she explains. The story, separated into three sections—Blue, Red, and White—travels a spiraled, associative, and fragmented path, making persistent returns to the events connected to the photograph. Most notably, it frequently revisits the protagonist's past and present relationship with her often-distracted mother. Indeed, the narrator's desire for proximity to her mother forms the connective tissue stitching together the chronology of her childhood. 'I've never been much good at distinguishing between what happened and what may have happened,' she reflects. 'The contours are blurred, and Mamma's face is a big white cloud over it all.' Perhaps recollection always requires a degree of fiction-making, not simply because people are inherently forgetful but because memories are shaped as much by impression and sensibility—a mother's face, the hazy sketch of a dark Parisian street—as they are by actual events. And yet, as Ullmann makes clear, remembering and forgetting are not so much actions as forces that everyone must negotiate. One might try to foster conditions for remembrance—take photographs, keep a journal, stash relics—but forgetfulness sets its own obscure terms. This need not be distressing. In fact, there is something pleasurable in setting down the burdens of the past. 'I don't want to lose the ability to lose things,' the narrator protests, in response to a promotional email for an app that makes it easier to retrieve misplaced items. Too much past accumulates; it gnaws like a parasite, thriving on the vitality of one's most punishing memories. What a relief, to let some things fade away.
