User-created list
Flowery Botanical Names
Across 4 pages
of 4
Linaria
Lunaria
Marguerite
French variation of Margaret; also a flower name
"pearl; daisy"
Marguerite is a classic French name with a remnant of old-fashioned Gallic charm; and is also a variety of daisy. Chic again in Paris, it's definitely ripe for revival here. Another reason you might…
Nigella
Feminine variation of Nigel; botanical name from Latin
"black"
A name that sounded unthinkably priggish until it became attached to Domestic Goddess British TV chef Nigella Lawson (named for her father), who gave it a big dollop of glamour.
Orchid
From Greek
"orchid flower"
Orchid is a hothouse bloom that has not been plucked by many modern baby namers — yet. In the language of flowers, orchids symbolize love, beauty, and sophistication. In a 1926 silent comedy, femme…
Pansy
English flower name from French
"thought"
Pansy is an early floral name that lost credibility when it became a derogatory slang term for gay people. Better these days: Posy or Poppy.
Peony
Flower name; Latin
"healing"
One of the rarest of the floral names, though not without some teasing potential. Peony is a historical 1948 novel by Pearl S. Buck.
Petunia
English
"trumpet-shaped flower"
Literary heritage: the "Loony Tunes" girlfriend of Porky Pig. But with the increasing popularity of all kinds of unusual botanical names, Petunia may be a name we start to hear more of.…
Posy
English
"a bunch of flowers"
A sweet, nostalgic nosegay kind of name, Posy has been long fashionable in England, a country of gardeners, but this pretty bouquet-of-flowers name is still rarely heard in the US, though it could be…
Primrose
English flower name
"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…
Saffron
Spice name
"orange-yellow color; a type of crocus"
Spice names are increasingly appealing to the senses of prospective parents; this one, belonging to a precious spice derived from the crocus has a vaguely orange-scented-incense sixties feel. English…
Sunflower
Tansy
Flower name, from Greek
"immortality"
Tansy is a flower name rarer than Rose, livelier than Lily and a lot less teasable than Pansy. Tansy is a perennial herbaceous plant of the aster family that has clusters of small bright yellow…
Tulip
Flower name, from Persian
"turban"
One of the most unusual flower names, Tulip is cute but tough to pull off as a first. It has some celebrity cred via Charlie Tamara Tulip, twin daughter of Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell. It…
Tiger Lily
Verbena
Latin
"sacred foliage"
This name of a showy, lemony plant makes an unusual entry into the name garden.
Zenobia
Greek
"force of Zeus"
With historical roots as a beautiful and intelligent ancient queen and literary ties to Hawthorne and Edith Wharton novels, this rarity could appeal to adventurous parents seeking the romantically…
Zinnia
Flower name, from German surname
"Zinn's flower"
Zinnia is an unusual floral choice with a bit more edge and energy than most and beginning to find its way onto namers' wish lists of botanical possibilities. Named after the 18th-century German…
Senna
Botanical name; Arabic
"brightness"
Senna is a flowering bush common in the tropics, with bright yellow flowers. In herbal medicine, Senna has gained some notice as the active ingredient in so-called "dieter's teas," which works mainly…
Fuschia