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🔥Primrose

English flower name
"first rose"
Grace Royal
By Grace Royal
Updated Wed Oct 01 2025

Primrose Origin and Meaning

The name Primrose is a girl's name of English origin meaning "first rose".

A quaint and quirky flower name, until recently considered a bit too prim for most American classrooms but brought back to life in recent years by the attractive character of Primrose "Prim" Everdeen in the Hunger Games series. In the Top 300 girl names in England and Wales and on Nameberry, Primrose remains rare in the US, but is made more accessible by a raft of sweet nickname options, including Rosie and Posy.

The flower name Primrose derives from Latin prima rosa, meaning "first rose", since primrose flowers are among the first to appear in early spring, heralding the coming of better weather. Primrose also has an alternative history as a Scottish surname deriving from the place name Penrhos, from the Welsh words pren "tree" and rhos "moor." The spelling was later altered due to association with the flower.

In the H. E. Bates book and 90's British TV series, The Darling Buds of May, there is a character named Primrose Violet Anemone Iris Magnolia Narcissa Larkin, who has twin sisters named Zinnia and Petunia.

# 472 on Nameberry

Primrose Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Primrose

20 Names Similar to Primrose

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Primrose.

Famous People Named Primrose

  • Primrose Catherine Anderson
    Stuart Potter, Australian socialite and philanthropist
  • Primrose "Pitty Pat" Dunlop
    Australian socialite, daughter of Primrose Potter and Roger Dunlop
  • Primrose Cumming
    English novelist
  • Dorothea Primrose Campbell
    Scottish poet

The name Primrose in Pop Culture

  • Primrose Violet Anemone Iris Magnolia Narcissa Larkin
    character in The Darling Buds of May novels and TV series
  • Primrose Woodmouse
    character in the Brambly Hedge children's book series
  • Primrose "Prim" Everdeen
    character in The Hunger Games trilogy, sister of Katniss Everdeen
  • Primrose Gamgee
    hobbit character in The Lord of the Rings trilogy
  • The surname comes from the name of Primrose in Fife
    Scotland, a place originally named Prenrhos, literally "tree,moor" in Welsh. It is the family name of the Earls of Rosebery.

International Variations of the name Primrose

  • Primarosa
    Spanish
  • Primorosa
    Spanish

The name Primrose in Nameberry Blog Posts