Magnolia
Top 1000
About Magnolia
Magnolia, a sweet-smelling Southern belle of a name made famous via the iconic Edna Ferber novel and musical Showboat, is one of the latest wave of botanical names, along with unexpected blossoms Azalea and Zinnia. It is named for French botanist Pierre Magnol.
Magnolia has been chosen for his daughter by Adrian Young of No Doubt—which happens to be a fabulous baby-naming consortium as well as a great musical group.
In Showboat, the Magnolia character goes by nicknames Noa, Nollie, and Maggie.
Magnolia charted on the popularity list almost every year from 1880 to 1940, topping at Number 420 in 1909—but it's now making a comeback.
Magnolia Breeland is a character on the TV show Hart of Dixie, who happens to have a sister named Lemon and a father named Brick.
Maminydjama Magnolia Maymuru is an Indigenous Australian model.
As of October 2026, Magnolia ranked #124 in US births in 2025 SSA, Nameberry popularity #251.
Editor's take: The name Magnolia is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "Magnol's flower".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #826 | 336 | 188.1 |
| 2015 | #635 | 450 | 252.1 |
| 2016 | #507 | 618 | 348.8 |
| 2017 | #384 | 815 | 472.1 |
| 2018 | #314 | 1,048 | 616.1 |
| 2019 | #237 | 1,322 | 787.7 |
| 2020 | #176 | 1,622 | 1,003.4 |
| 2021 | #140 | 1,965 | 1,197.5 |
| 2022 | #151 | 1,884 | 1,148.7 |
| 2023 | #144 | 1,951 | 1,215.9 |
| 2024 | #138 | 2,146 | 1,324.5 |
| 2025 | #124 | 2,233 | 1,389.3 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Magnolia.
Famous Magnolias
- Maminydjama "Magnolia" Maymuru
Aboriginal Australian model
- Magnolia Renée Young (b. 2011)
daughter of drummer Adrian Young of No Doubt
- Magnolia Catherwood (b. 2014)
daughter of actress Bianca Kajilich and radio personality Michael Catherwood
Magnolia in pop culture
- Magnolia Barnard
character on TV show "Insatiable"
- Magnolia Hawkes
main character in book and musical "Show Boat"
- Magnolia Breeland
character on TV show "Hart of Dixie"
- Magnolia Jenkins
character in The Long Secret by Louise Fitzhugh
- Magnolia Stryder
character in The Host by Stephanie Meyer
- Magnolia "Maggie" Green
character on The Walking Dead
- Isabel Magnolia
character in anime "Attack on Titan"
- Magnolia
town in anime 'Fairy Tail'
- "Magnolia
" 1999 film
- "Steel Magnolias
" play and film
- The Grand Magnolias
American indie rock band
- Sugar Magnolia
Grateful Dead song
- "Magnolia"
song by The Hush Sound
- "Magnolia"
song by Playboi Carti
- Magnolia "Maggie" Lacivi
character in webcomic Ava's Demon
- "Magnolia Simms
" a song by the Monkees (Mike Nesmith)
- "Magnolia Parks"
novel series by Jessa Hastings
- Magnolia Parks
main titular character in novel series "Magnolia Parks"
- "Magnolia"
song by Laufey