Lavender

English
"purple flower"

Lavender Origin and Meaning

The name Lavender is a girl's name of English origin meaning "purple flower".

Lavender lags far behind sweet-smelling purple-hued sister names Violet and Lila, but is starting to get some enthusiastic attention from cutting-edge namers along with other adventurous nature names like Clementine and Marigold.

The flower's name derives from Latin lividus "bluish", influenced by lavō "wash" due to use of lavender in washing clothes. It has long been used in traditional medicine and in cooking for its sweet fragrance and soothing properties. But it also has a long history as a name, going back to the eighteenth century, when it was also used for boys.

Famous fictional namesakes include Lavender Brown, a witch character in the Harry Potter saga, and the eponymous heroine's best friend in Roald Dahl's Matilda.

# 394 on Nameberry

Lavender Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Lavender Popularity

Famous People Named Lavender

  • Lavender Rosamund Marguerite "Pinkie" Barnes
    English table tennis player
  • Lavender May Avery
    first daughter of pop singer Jack Avery and Instagram star Gabriela Gonzalez

Lavender in Pop Culture

  • Lavender Brown
    character in the Harry Potter series
  • Lavender Rolt
    main character in play "Sweet Lavender" by Arthur Wing Pinero
  • Lavender
    character in 1996 film "Matilda"
  • Lady Lavander
    Griselda's godmother in The Cuckoo Clock (1877) by Mrs Molesworth
  • Lavender
    character in Canadian animated series "Little Charmers"
  • Lavender Town
    a town in Kanto in the Pokemon video games
  • Lavender's Blue
    English folk song
  • Lavender Wolfmeyer
    character in film "The Upside of Anger'
  • Lavender Shade Johnson
    older brother in Sheila Turnage's 'Three Times Lucky'