There’s Robin, Wren and Dove.  We’ve all heard about a boy called Falcon.  Would this borrowing from the world of birds wear well on a daughter?

With a Happy Birthday to my sister, today’s Name of the Day is Lark.

There are dozens of larks – the white-winged, the short-toed, the roufus-rumped and even the spike-heeled.  But that’s amongst the avian population.  As a given name, Lark has only darted into the US Top 1000 once in the 1880s – for boys.  I suspect the nineteenth century Lark sighting was related to Larkin, an old school diminutive and a surname derived from the then-popular Laurence and Lawrence.

Lark comes to us from the Germanic lerche – songbird.  The verb lark – as in frolic – probably traces back to the Old Norse leika – to play.  There’s more to the verb’s story, and you might argue that the irreverent undertones cancel out her nature name potential.

There’s a literary angle to this choice.  In Romeo and Juliet, the ill-fated couple awakens the morning after their wedding night to birdsong.  Juliet tries to convince her groom that he can stay a little longer:  “It was the nightingale, and not the lark, that pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear.”

You’ll sometimes see lark listed as the opposite of night owl – another term for a morning person.

Parents today might think of actress Lark Voorhies.  As Lisa on ear;u 90s teen comedy Saved by the Bell, she was a rich girl and aspiring fashion designer.  The actress is still working, but her star has fallen since the original cast graduated.

Lark has been in use in the twentieth century – but mostly as a product name:

• Copper brought nineteenth century miners to Utah.  One of the communities they established was called Lark – but in the 1970s, the mines closed and today it is considered a ghost town;
• Gospel Music Hall of Fame member Thurman Ruth was a member of The Larks, a vocal group from the early 1950s;
• In the 1960s, Lark was a brand of cigarette – and still is in Japan;
• Studebaker once built a Lark;
• During the 1940s through the 60s, passengers could travel from San Fransisco to Los Angeles on the Southern Pacific Railroad’s Lark.

All of this doesn’t make much of a case for using Lark as a girl’s name.  And yet, the US Top 1000 is littered with nature names, including:

• Florals like Lily (#24), Daisy (#161) and Violet (#184);
• Seasons Autumn (#89) and Summer (#171).

All of this has prompted parents to reconsider less familiar botanicals like Ivy, Iris and Willow.  Lark shares the final -k sound with #52 Brooke – again, a relatively recent entry into use as a given name, but a widely accepted one.

If you’re seeking an unexpected nature name and prefer a frills-free choice for your daughter, Lark could fit the bill.  Or if you love Lauren but don’t care for the nickname Laurie, Lark might be a nice alternative.