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Lavender

Heart
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.

# 260 on Nameberry

Lavender Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Lavender Popularity

20 Names Similar to Lavender

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Famous People Named Lavender

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

Lavender in Pop Culture

  • Lavender Browncharacter in the Harry Potter series
  • Lavender Roltmain character in play "Sweet Lavender" by Arthur Wing Pinero
  • Lavendercharacter in 1996 film "Matilda"
  • Lady LavanderGriselda's godmother in The Cuckoo Clock (1877) by Mrs Molesworth
  • Lavendercharacter in Canadian animated series "Little Charmers"
  • Lavender Towna town in Kanto in the Pokemon video games
  • Lavender's BlueEnglish folk song
  • Lavender Wolfmeyercharacter in film "The Upside of Anger'
  • Lavender Shade Johnsonolder brother in Sheila Turnage's 'Three Times Lucky'