User-created list
By celattin · Updated June 2023
Across 3 pages
of 3
English
"heathery hill"
Rarely heard Hayden alternative -- though, mark our words, you'll spend your life correcting everyone's pronunciation and spelling.
"heathery field"
Hemingway readers will recognize this as the name of Papa's first wife (and, eventually, actress Mariel's grandmother). But in Victorian times, Hadley and Hedley were actually more popular for boys.
Greek
"violet flower"
This unusual Greek flower and color name has gained considerable recent attention via actress Ione Skye, who is the daughter of sixties folksinger Donovan. Ione was one of the fifty sea nymphs —…
Albanian, Hungarian, Mongolian, Slovene, Korean, "snow; foreign; brown, grey; pine tree; purple"
"snow; foreign; brown, grey; pine tree; purple"
A name with a multitude of meanings, Bora means "snow" in Albanian (via borë , and pronounced BAW-ruh); "foreign" in Hungarian, where it is a variation of Borbála, a form of Barbara (pronounced as…
Italian and Spanish from Greek
"purple dye"
This ancient saint's name was borne by the infamous midcentury playboy, Porfirio Rubirosa.
Variation of Jacinta, Spanish and Portuguese
"hyacinth"
Jacinda, a form of the lovely and unusual Spanish and Portuguese flower name Jacinta (for Hyacinth), was first popularized by the Australian actress Jacinda Barrett. Today, the girls' name Jacinda is…
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…
Variation of Barnabas
"son of comfort"
The name Barney is hot among hip Londoners and it has been above the Top 500 in the UK since 2012. You can see why - it's got a friendly happy sound and a lovely meaning and is more easily worn than…
Greek or Welsh
"violet; beautiful lady"
Isla is hot, Iona is cool – maybe it's time Iola got a second look? Last heard from on Carol Burnett's Mama's Family show, Iola feels like just the sort of uncommon, vowel-rich, vintage name that…
English, French and Gaelic surname
"heather enclosure; battle; servant of Saint Catan"
The surname Hatton has three primary origins — English, French, and Irish/Scottish Gaelic. The English variation is a combination of compounds meaning "heather" and "settlement," while the French is…
Botanical name
From the botanical name for common heather, Calluna vulgaris , which ultimately derives from the Greek kallos "beauty". A unique, nature-inspired route to the fashionable nicknames Callie and Luna.
Fruit name
British-born novelist Plum Sykes has taken this rich, fruity name out of the produce section and put it into the baby name basket. It's more appealing than Apple, more presentable than Peaches. The…
Catalan
"heather"
Pronounced like Bruce with a hard K — not like Brook. Short names are very popular in Catalonia, and this rugged choice is a rare example of a botanical boy name.
Russian from Greek
A rare Russian name derived from the Greek porphyra , referring to a purple dye. More familiar is the Italian and Spanish Porfirio, from the same origins, which hopped in and out of the Top 1000 at…
Romanian
A lovely, botanical and V starting name for boys, derived from viorea , the Romanian word for the sweet violet flower. The name is predominantly used in Romania, but also in Moldova and Spain.
Masculinization of Yolanda, Spanish from Greek
"violet"
One of the few masculine names that derived from a feminine one.
Hungarian
"purple"
Czech
The Czech word for the violet flower would make for a sweet and quirky nature name for a baby girl.
Plant and color name
"vivid purplish-red; tubular flower"
A plausible color name, it was chosen by the singer Sting as a middle name for his daughter, after a character in the Gormenghast fantasy trilogy, of which he's a big fan. Another bearer is Fuchsia…
The English cognate, Heather, is stuck in the '70s, but Hungarian Hanga is a modern hit in its country of origin.
