Growing Freely
The following flora names are as classic and popular as a bunch of red roses on Valentine’s Day!
Alyssa: Alyssum is a bright yellow flower. This name’s current popularity probably has nothing to do with its relationship to the flower. Calla: As in the lily. This is a pretty name that gets used with some frequency. Cicely: Here’s something you may not have known – cicely is a plant from the parsley family! It’s also a very nice name and one that’s in fairly common use. Heather: A low-growing plant of the heath variety, it likes moisture and mist, which makes it an ideal plant for the British Isles. It’s a popular girls’ name on both sides of the Atlantic. Holly: Pointy leaves and red berries distinguish this quintessential Christmas plant. This name was more popular about 40 years ago, but it hasn’t seen its reign end yet. Jasmine: An exotic tropical plant with an intoxicating fragrance. It became popular all of a sudden, probably driven by the hit Disney movie Aladdin. Lily: The bulbous plants with trumpet-shaped, often very showy flowers. It’s a sweet, old-fashioned name that never seems to go out of style. Hana: Not a flower, but the Japanese name that means “flower.” Widely used there, it sounds like Hannah, so it’s fairly popular in the U.S. as well.
Rare Blooms
A little wilted, perhaps, or hothouse delicate, these names are either a bit passé or have yet to come into bloom:
Amaryllis: A Victorian flower name which most people associate with the little girl in the play/movie The Music Man. Angelica: It’s a plant from the carrot family often used as an herbal remedy, in perfumes, and in flavorings. Because of its similarity to the word “angel,” it’s in fairly common usage. Azalea: Another Victorian flower name not used much today. A pretty flower, however, and a pretty-sounding name …maybe it’s one to consider for a middle name. Bryony: This plant name is pronounced BRI-e-nee, which has a pretty sound. Could also be used as a variant of Brian for a girl. Burnet: Burnets are part of the rose family. Spelled as Burnett, this is an uncommon name, but it has seen some use, especially as a middle name. Calandra: A pleasant derivative of calendula, which isn’t a great name for anything but a plant. Camellia: Camilla Parker Bowles may make this name more popular. Cassia: If you don’t think about the use for the drug that comes from the bark of the cassia tree, this is a very pretty name and shouldn’t be overlooked, especially as a rarer name in the popular -ia form. (If you need to know, senna, a cathartic or laxative drug, is extracted from cassia bark.) Cherry: Fruit tree as name. It generally appears in forms that mean Cherry in other languages, like Cherise. Dahlia: Very showy perennial flowers. It’s not a bad name. Daphne: It’s a shrub with fragrant flowers or a nymph who escaped from Apollo by turning into a laurel tree. Popular in Britain, it may take off here due to its use on the popular television show Frasier. Daisy: Probably one of the happiest flowers out there. Girls with this name tend to be pretty cheery, too. Fern: As in the frondy plants. It’s unusual, but it does show up from time to time. Violet: Better known as the derivative name Yolanda, which comes from the Greek iolanthe, meaning “violet flower.”
Lost Their Bloom
Faded flowers, all of these.
Aster: An often dainty, star-like flower that looks a little bit like a daisy but comes in other colors. The name was fairly popular with the Victorians. Blossom: As in the flower. Maybe too old-fashioned for a given name, but it could have its place as a middle name. Iris: This large group of flowers comes in many different forms – bearded, Asian, Japanese, etc. It was once fairly popular, but has faded in the late twentieth century. Daffodil: A narcissus with longer leaves and trumpet-like flowers. I wouldn’t advise using the name unless you really love the flower as it turns into a horrid pet name – Daffy.
