Flower Names

  1. Amaryllis
    • Origin:

      Greek
    • Meaning:

      "to sparkle"
    • Description:

      If you love both unique baby names and flower names for girls, Amaryllis might be a perfect choice for you.
  2. Arum
    • Basil
      • Origin:

        Greek
      • Meaning:

        "royal"
      • Description:

        Although Greek in origin--in the fourth century, a bishop by that name established the principles of the Greek Orthodox Church--Basil for years took on the aura of aquiline-nosed upper-class Britishness of Sherlock Holmes portrayer Basil Rathbone, then spiced with the fragrant aroma of the herb that entered with the Pesto generation.
    • Bryony
      • Origin:

        Latin flower name
      • Meaning:

        "to sprout"
      • Description:

        Bryony is an unusually strong plant name --the bryony is a wild climbing vine with green flowers --that caught on in the U.K. before sprouting here. The name of the young character in the Ian McEwan novel Atonement is spelled Briony, which is the variation and Bryony the original.
    • Burdock
      • Chrysanthemum
        • Origin:

          Greek
        • Meaning:

          "gold flower"
        • Description:

          One of the rarest of the flower names, that of the blossom celebrated in Japan as a symbol of the sun and a possible object of meditation. One of the rare flower names counted among names for autumn babies, Chrysanthemum is also one of the most unusual nature-themed girl names starting with C.
      • Celsia
        • Dahlia
          • Origin:

            Flower name, from Swedish surname
          • Meaning:

            "Dahl's flower"
          • Description:

            One of the flower names, used occasionally in Britain (where it's pronounced DAY-lee-a). It seems to have recovered from what was perceived as a slightly affected la-di-dah air. The flower was named in honor of the pioneering Swedish botanist Andreas Dahl, which means dale.
        • Daisy
          • Origin:

            Diminutive of Margaret or flower name, English
          • Meaning:

            "day's eye"
          • Description:

            Daisy, fresh, wholesome, and energetic, is one of the flower names that burst back into bloom after a century's hibernation. Originally a nickname for Margaret (the French Marguerite is the word for the flower), Daisy comes from the phrase "day's eye," because it opens its petals at daybreak.
        • Fern
          • Origin:

            English
          • Meaning:

            "plant name"
          • Description:

            Of all the botanicals, Fern has been one of the slowest to move back from the front parlor into the nursery, despite the appealing girl character in the children's classic Charlotte's Web. Fern was most popular from the turn of the last century through the 1940s, reaching a high of #152 in 1916. We can certainly see her rejoining the long list of popular greenery names.
        • Ginger
          • Origin:

            English diminutive
          • Description:

            Originally a unisex nickname for a redhead -- red hair is called "ginger" in Britain -- or for the name Virginia, Ginger perennially wears pink gingham and spike heels.
        • Hazel
          • Origin:

            English
          • Meaning:

            "the hazelnut tree"
          • Description:

            Hazel has a pleasantly hazy, brownish-green-eyed, old-fashioned image that more and more parents are choosing to share. Former Old Lady name Hazel reentered the popularity lists in 1998 and now is near the top of the charts.
        • Heath
          • Origin:

            English
          • Meaning:

            "the heathland dweller"
          • Description:

            Actor Heath Ledger's tragic death has cast a pall over this otherwise pleasant and distinctive name. Nonetheless, it remains in the Top 1000.
        • Heather
          • Origin:

            English botanical name
          • Description:

            This flower name was one of the most popular in her class in the seventies and eighties (in the 1989 movie Heathers, every snobby girl in the high school clique bore that name). Now, though still pretty and evocative of the Scottish moors, it has faded in favor of other purplish blooms, having fallen out of the Top 1000 after having been as high as Number 3 in 1975, when it was given to close to 25,000 girls.
        • Holly
          • Origin:

            English nature name
          • Description:

            Holly ranks just in British Top 50, but it's been out of favor here since the 1970s Era of Nickname Names. Still, the name may be on her way back as a rejuvenated nature pick.
        • Hyacinth
          • Origin:

            Flower name, from Greek
          • Meaning:

            "blue larkspur; precious stone"
          • Description:

            Though it may not be as sweet and gentle as, say, Violet, the purple-hued Hyacinth still might hold some appeal for the parent seeking a truly unusual flower name.
        • Iris
          • Origin:

            Flower name; Greek
          • Meaning:

            "rainbow"
          • Description:

            Iris has so much going for it. It's a fashionable flower name. It's a mythological name, from the Greek goddess of the rainbow. And it's a classic name, always ranking in the girls' Top 1000 but now at its highest point ever.
        • Ivy
          • Origin:

            Botanical name
          • Description:

            The quirky, offbeat and energetic botanical name Ivy is enjoying a deserved revival, propelled even higher by its choice by high-profile parents Beyonce and Jay-Z for daughter Blue Ivy. Ivy is also traditionally used at Christmas, make this one of the perfect names for December babies.
        • Jessamine
          • Origin:

            English from Persian
          • Meaning:

            "jasmine"
          • Description:

            Jessamine, a charming name occasionally heard in England, is just beginning to be appreciated in the U.S. as a possible successor to all the Jess names of the past. It's also spelled Jessamyn, as in Quaker novelist Jessamyn West, author of Friendly Persuasion--who started life with Jessamyn as her middle name.
        • Juniper
          • Origin:

            Latin tree name
          • Meaning:

            "young"
          • Description:

            Juniper is a fresh-feeling nature name -- it's a small evergreen shrub -- with lots of energy. A new favorite of fashionable parents, Juniper joins such other tree and shrub names as Hazel, Acacia, and Willow.