Browse Names

Algernon m English
Originally a Norman French nickname, derived from aux gernons "having a moustache", which was applied to William de Percy, a companion of William the Conqueror. It was first used a given name in the 15th century (for a descendant of William de Percy). This name was borne by a character (a mouse) in the short story Flowers for Algernon (1958) and novel of the same title (1966) by the American author Daniel Keyes.

Alyssa f English
Variant of Alicia. The spelling has probably been influenced by that of the alyssum flower, the name of which is derived from Greek ἀ (a), a negative prefix, combined with λύσσα (lyssa) meaning "madness, rabies", since it was believed to cure madness.

Anemone f English (Rare)
From the name of the anemone flower, which is derived from Greek ἄνεμος (anemos) meaning "wind".

Anthony m English
English form of the Roman family name Antonius, which is of unknown Etruscan origin. The most notable member of the Roman family was the general Marcus Antonius (called Mark Antony in English), who for a period in the 1st century BC ruled the Roman Empire jointly with Augustus. When their relationship turned sour, he and his mistress Cleopatra were attacked and forced to commit suicide, as related in Shakespeare's tragedy Antony and Cleopatra (1606).... [more]

April f English
From the name of the month, probably originally derived from Latin aperio "to open, to uncover", referring to the opening of flowers. It has only been commonly used as a given name since the 1940s.

Aster f & m English (Rare)
From the name of the flower, which is derived via Latin from Greek ἀστήρ (aster) meaning "star".

Azalea f English (Modern)
From the name of the flower (shrubs of the genus Rhododendron), ultimately derived from Greek ἀζαλέος (azaleos) meaning "dry".

Calanthe f English (Rare)
From the name of a type of orchid, ultimately meaning "beautiful flower", derived from Greek καλός (kalos) meaning "beautiful" and ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower".

Calla f English
From the name of two types of plants, the true calla (species Calla palustris) and the calla lily (species Calla aethiopica), both having white flowers and growing in marshy areas. Use of the name may also be inspired by Greek κάλλος (kallos) meaning "beauty".

Camellia f English (Rare)
From the name of the flowering shrub, which was named for the botanist and missionary Georg Josef Kamel.

Celandine f English (Rare)
From the name of the flower, which is derived from Greek χελιδών (chelidon) meaning "swallow (bird)".

Celinda f English (Rare)
Probably a blend of Celia and Linda. This is also the Spanish name for a variety of shrub with white flowers, known as sweet mock-orange in English (species Philadelphus coronarius).

Chrysanta f English (Rare)
Shortened form of the word chrysanthemum, the name of a flowering plant, which means "golden flower" in Greek.

Clematis f English (Rare)
From the English word for a type of flowering vine, ultimately derived from Greek κλήμα (klema) meaning "twig, branch".

Clover f English (Modern)
From the English word for the wild flower, ultimately deriving from Old English clafre.

Columbine f English (Rare), Theatre
From the name of a variety of flower. It is also an English form of Colombina, the theatre character.

Daffodil f English (Rare)
From the name of the flower, ultimately derived from Dutch de affodil meaning "the asphodel".

Dahlia f English (Modern)
From the name of the flower, which was named for the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.

Daisy f English
Simply from the English word for the white flower, ultimately derived from Old English dægeseage meaning "day eye". It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.... [more]

Diantha f Dutch (Rare), English (Rare)
From dianthus, the name of a type of flower (ultimately from Greek meaning "heavenly flower").

Eglantine f English (Rare)
From the English word for the flower also known as sweetbrier. It is derived via Old French from Vulgar Latin *aquilentum meaning "prickly". It was early used as a given name (in the form Eglentyne) in Geoffrey Chaucer's 14th-century story The Prioress's Tale (one of The Canterbury Tales).

Fleur f French, Dutch, English (British)
Means "flower" in French. Saint Fleur of Issendolus (Flor in Gascon) was a 14th-century nun from Maurs, France. This was also the name of a character in John Galsworthy's novels The Forsyte Saga (1922).

Flora f English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, French, Greek, Albanian, Roman Mythology
Derived from Latin flos meaning "flower" (genitive case floris). Flora was the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, the wife of Zephyr the west wind. It has been used as a given name since the Renaissance, starting in France. In Scotland it was sometimes used as an Anglicized form of Fionnghuala.

Flower f English (Rare)
Simply from the English word flower for the blossoming plant. It is derived (via Old French) from Latin flos.

Gardenia f English (Rare)
From the name of the tropical flower, which was named for the Scottish naturalist Alexander Garden (1730-1791).

Heather f English
From the English word heather for the variety of small shrubs with pink or white flowers, which commonly grow in rocky areas. It is derived from Middle English hather. It was first used as a given name in the late 19th century, though it did not become popular until the last half of the 20th century.

Hyacinth 2 f English (Rare)
From the name of the flower (or the precious stone that also bears this name), ultimately from Greek hyakinthos (see Hyacinthus).

Ione f Greek Mythology, English
From Ancient Greek ἴον (ion) meaning "violet flower". This was the name of a sea nymph in Greek mythology. It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, though perhaps based on the Greek place name Ionia, a region on the west coast of Asia Minor.

Iris f Greek Mythology, English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, French, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Slovene, Croatian, Greek
Means "rainbow" in Greek. Iris was the name of the Greek goddess of the rainbow, also serving as a messenger to the gods. This name can also be given in reference to the word (which derives from the same Greek source) for the iris flower or the coloured part of the eye.

Ivy f English
From the English word for the climbing plant that has small yellow flowers. It is ultimately derived from Old English ifig.

Jasmine f English, French
From the English word for the climbing plant with fragrant flowers that is used for making perfumes. It is derived via Arabic from Persian یاسمین (yāsamīn), which is also a Persian name. In the United States this name steadily grew in popularity from the 1970s, especially among African Americans. It reached a peak in the early 1990s shortly after the release of the animated Disney movie Aladdin (1992), which featured a princess by this name.

Jessamine f English (Rare)
From a variant spelling of the English word jasmine (see Jasmine), used also to refer to flowering plants in the cestrum family.

Jonquil f English (Rare)
From the English word for the type of flower, derived ultimately from Latin iuncus "reed".

Lavender f English (Modern)
From the English word for the aromatic flower or the pale purple colour.

Leilani f & m Hawaiian, English
Means "heavenly flowers" or "royal child" from Hawaiian lei "flowers, lei, child" and lani "heaven, sky, royal, majesty".

Lilac f English (Rare)
From the English word for the shrub with purple or white flowers (genus Syringa). It is derived via Arabic from Persian.

Lily f English
From the name of the flower, a symbol of purity. The word is ultimately derived from Latin lilium. This is the name of the main character, Lily Bart, in the novel The House of Mirth (1905) by Edith Wharton. A famous bearer is the American actress Lily Tomlin (1939-).

Linnaea f English (Rare)
From the word for the type of flower, also called the twinflower (see Linnéa).

Lotus f English (Rare)
From the name of the lotus flower (species Nelumbo nucifera) or the mythological lotus tree. They are ultimately derived from Greek λωτός (lotos). In Greek and Roman mythology the lotus tree was said to produce a fruit causing sleepiness and forgetfulness.

Magnolia f English
From the English word magnolia for the flower, which was named for the French botanist Pierre Magnol.

Marigold f English (Modern)
From the name of the flower, which comes from a combination of Mary and the English word gold.

May f English
Derived from the name of the month of May, which derives from Maia, the name of a Roman goddess. May is also another name of the hawthorn flower. It is also used as a diminutive of Mary, Margaret or Mabel.

Melantha f English (Rare)
Probably a combination of Mel (from names such as Melanie or Melissa) with the suffix antha (from Greek ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower"). John Dryden used this name in his play Marriage a la Mode (1672).

Myrtle f English
Simply from the English word myrtle for the evergreen shrub, ultimately from Greek μύρτος (myrtos). It was first used as a given name in the 19th century, at the same time many other plant and flower names were coined.

Nydia f English (Rare), Spanish, Literature
Used by British author Edward Bulwer-Lytton for a blind flower-seller in his novel The Last Days of Pompeii (1834). He perhaps based it on Latin nidus "nest".

Pansy f English
From the English word for a type of flower, ultimately deriving from Old French pensee "thought".

Peony f English (Rare)
From the English word for the type of flower. It was originally believed to have healing qualities, so it was named after the Greek medical god Pæon.

Petal f English (Rare)
From the English word for the flower part, derived from Greek πέταλον (petalon) meaning "leaf".

Petunia f English (Rare)
From the name of the flower, derived ultimately from a Tupi (South American) word.

Poppy f English
From the word for the red flower, derived from Old English popæg.

Posy f English
Diminutive of Josephine. It can also be inspired by the English word posy for a bunch of flowers.

Primrose f English (Rare)
From the English word for the flower, ultimately deriving from Latin prima rosa "first rose".

Primula f English (Rare), Italian (Rare)
From the name of a genus of several species of flowers, including the primrose. It is derived from the Latin word primulus meaning "very first".

Prunella f English (Rare)
From the English word for the type of flower, also called self-heal, ultimately a derivative of the Latin word pruna "plum".

Rose f English, French
Originally a Norman French form of the Germanic name Hrodohaidis meaning "famous type", composed of the elements hruod "fame" and heit "kind, sort, type". The Normans introduced it to England in the forms Roese and Rohese. From an early date it was associated with the word for the fragrant flower rose (derived from Latin rosa). When the name was revived in the 19th century, it was probably with the flower in mind.

Saffron f English (Rare)
From the English word that refers either to a spice, the crocus flower from which it is harvested, or the yellow-orange colour of the spice. It is derived via Old French from Arabic زعفران (zaʿfarān), itself probably from Persian meaning "gold leaves".

Samantha f English, Italian, Dutch
Perhaps intended to be a feminine form of Samuel, using the name suffix antha (possibly inspired by Greek ἄνθος (anthos) meaning "flower"). It originated in America in the 18th century but was fairly uncommon until 1964, when it was popularized by the main character on the television show Bewitched.

Sharon f & m English, Hebrew
From an Old Testament place name, in Hebrew שָׁרוֹן (Sharon) meaning "plain", referring to a fertile plain on the central west coast of Israel. This is also the name of a flowering plant in the Bible, the rose of Sharon, a term now used to refer to several different species of flowers.... [more]

Tansy f English (Rare)
From the name of the flower, which is derived via Old French from Late Latin tanacita.

Violet f English
From the English word violet for the purple flower, ultimately derived from Latin viola. It was common in Scotland from the 16th century, and it came into general use as an English given name during the 19th century.

Wisteria f English (Rare)
From the name of the flowering plant, which was named for the American anatomist Caspar Wistar.

Zinnia f English (Rare)
From the name of the flower, which was itself named for the German botanist Johann Zinn.