Offbeat Florals

A list of unusual floral names off the beaten path, potentially to consider as a middle name.
  1. Zinnia
    • Origin:

      Flower name, from German surname
    • Meaning:

      "Zinn's flower"
    • Description:

      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 botanist Johann Gottfried Zinn, it appears in Roald Dahl's Matilda as the young protagonist's mother.
  2. Vivendel
    • Origin:

      Norwegian nature name
    • Meaning:

      "honeysuckle flower"
    • Description:

      The Norwegian word for "honeysuckle" could make for a fresh and vibrant nature-inspired choice.
  3. Celandine
    • Origin:

      English botanical name
    • Description:

      A botanical name belonging to a small yellow flower in the poppy family. The word ultimately derives from chelidon, the Ancient Greek for "swallow (bird)".
  4. Ornella
    • Origin:

      Italian
    • Meaning:

      "flowering ash tree"
    • Description:

      Like many a popular name, Ornella is a theatrical creation. Italian playwright Gabriele d'Annunzio created this name for his dramatic heroine in the 1904 play La Figlia di Iorio. Ornella is a feminization of the orno or ornello, which is the Italian word for the Fraxinus Ornus, a type of tree which produces such sweet sap that it was compared to biblical manna.
  5. Ixora
    • Origin:

      Botanical name
    • Description:

      Ixora is a type of flowering plant which in tropical climates flower all year round. Ixora is important in Hindu worship. Ixora is also the name of an album by Florida-based band Copeland.
  6. Lilias
    • Origin:

      Latin
    • Meaning:

      "lily"
    • Description:

      An unusual flower name deriving from the Latin word for lily (lilium), this variant has always been popular in Scotland.
  7. Phlox
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "flame"
    • Description:

      A rare and striking flower name, in use in English since the late 19th century, which takes its name from the Greek word for "flame".
  8. Chrysanthe
    • Origin:

      Feminine form of Chrysanthos,Greek
    • Meaning:

      "golden flower"
    • Description:

      A unique option for a November baby (the November birth flower is a chrysanthemum) or to honor an ancestral Chris, Chrysanthe feels more wearable than the full Chrysanthemum, despite the storybook mouse.
  9. Alyssum
    • Celosia
      • Linaria
        • Lobelia

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