10 Weather-Inspired Baby Names

If you're struggling with finding the right moniker for your future heir, you're not alone. It's an important decision that could affect your child's future. "It took us all nine months to come up with a name for our daughter. There's so much feedback when it comes to naming a human — friends, family and my silly brain," Emerson Aalto told NPR. "We wanted something short and sweet and gender-fluid as our times are a changin'. Her name is Leo Nova Shear, and she is a Cancer. We love her so much and can't wait to see her grow."

And when all else fails, don't be gloomy — did you know that you could actually hire someone to name your baby for you?

Colleen Slagen of @NamingBebe offers baby-naming services that start at $99. The nurse practitioner says she's had a lifelong obsession with baby names and recalls that that as an elementary-school child she'd write the names of her "future children" in journals. “For some people, [baby naming] is naturally a fun process, and for others, it’s actually very stressful, because they haven’t spent the last 30 years of their lives thinking about baby names,” Slagen told Vox.

Whatever your method for making this big life choice, we have ideas for weather-inspired baby names you might consider adding to your list.

More from Mom.com: How to Overcome Baby Name Indecision

Popularity rank in the U.S.: Not ranked

Meaning: Rain, abundant blessings

Rain, from the Old English "regn," couldn't be cleaner and more classic. It means what it says, a drizzle, mist or deluge, the tears of the gods, life-giving rain. Rain is a sign of blessings and abundance in Eastern and Native American beliefs; it signifies the same good fortune when it's attached to your baby. Rain, or Rayne, works for boys and girls and can be paired with seasonal or descriptive names — like Summer or Misty — for a hippie vibe, if that's your thing.

Popularity rank in the US: #31

Meaning: Dawn

Aurora is from Latin and the name of the Roman goddess of sunrise — her tears become the morning dew. It's also the name of the dazzling Northern Lights, the Aurora Borealis, caused by space weather systems. Disney's Sleeping Beauty is named Aurora, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote an epic poem called "Aurora Leigh." The princess in your nursery will blind you with her own dancing lights. Bring that high-flown gleam and glimmer down to earth with the popular nickname for Aurora, "Rory."

Popularity rank in the U.S.: Not ranked

Meaning: Possessor of rain

Indra was the principal god in the sacred Hindu text, the "Rig Veda," a warrior deity of sky and rain. Indra was a powerful figure who controlled the weather. Today Sanskrit-derived Indra is a given name for girls, an uncommon first name in the West that honors an Indian heritage or a love for the Sanskrit language and Hindu mythology.

Popularity rank in the U.S.: Not ranked

Meaning: Tempest, disturbance of the atmosphere

Storm is a commanding name that hints at a forceful personality, even as it describes the disruption of an uneventful day by wind, rain, thunder or snow. Storm will always shake it up and clear the air, leaving calm seas and sky and the promise and beauty of the rainbow. The Old English moniker worked for baseball players, jazz musicians, novelists and Olympic athletes. Your mini-whirlwind might be a perfect candidate for the name.

Popularity rank in the U.S.: Not ranked

Meaning: Turbulent, stormy

Tempest is very chill and very hot. The girl's name evokes the wild magic of a fierce storm — like the one in the Bard's famous play — or a larger-than-life stripper. You are taking a risk on this one, so be sure your big-personality baby will be happy with the turbulent moniker as she grows up. Tempest is from the Renaissance English word for storm — she can default to "Tess" as a nickname. Or you can just play it safe and call her Miranda, the lovely heroine at the heart of Shakespeare's "The Tempest."

Popularity rank in the U.S.: Soleil: #990; Sunny: #552

Meaning: Sun

Soleil—pronounced soh-LAY—is French for "sun," and your golden little girl is a ray of sunshine to banish any cloudy day. Girls and boys might be named the English word Sunny, less elegant but just as warm. Choose Soleil for your dancing and delicate girl if you love all things French, lighthearted and cheerful; it's an affectionate predictor of a bright and friendly personality.

Popularity rank in the U.S.: Not ranked

Meaning: Mild breeze, west wind

Zephyros was the Greek god of the west wind, and baby Zephyr personifies that gentle and favorable breeze. His presence is felt on mild spring and early summer days, a welcome and refreshing breath of air that stirs the flowers and creates the most pleasant weather all year. Zephyr is a short, neat, original and evocative name for your easy, breezy baby boy.

Popularity rank in the U.S.: Not ranked

Meaning: Dominant wind

Le Mistral is the strong, cold wind that spills over the Alps, rushing across Provence toward the French Riviera and the Mediterranean Sea. Its name comes from Latin, and the Mistral is exactly that, a wind that dominates everything, blowing hard for days at a time and affecting the weather in North Africa, Sicily and the Mediterranean. But the mistral clears the clouds away, dries the atmosphere, sweeps away the grime, and reveals the bright sun and vivid colors of Provence. Mistral is an out-of-the-ordinary girl's name for a beneficial force to be reckoned with.

Popularity rank in the U.S.: Not ranked

Meaning: Bright, radiant, snow

Niamh, pronounced and sometimes spelled Neve, is an Irish name for the daughter of the mythical sea god Manannan. She was a beautiful princess known as "Niamh of the Golden Hair" who lived with her love in an enchanted land where hundreds of years seemed to pass in weeks. The Gaelic means "bright" and the Italian word "neve" means "snow," so the varied spellings connect Niamh/Neve to the radiance of a new snowfall.

Popularity rank in the U.S.: Not ranked

Meaning: Rain

Varsha is a Hindu name from the Sanskrit word for "rainy season." It has a touch of the exotic, a hint of tropical monsoon – the time when sweeping rains restore the parched land, turning dry fields to soft green and stippling the surface of the sacred Ganges River. Varsha works smoothly with almost any surname and is an inspired departure from the plain English name Rain. The name can also be spelled Barsha, although that is less common.