Flower and Flower Inspired Names

Acacia is an attractive, rarely used Greek flower name enhanced by its popular beginning-and-ending-with 'a'-construct, and is gradually beginning to catch on as a new member of the stylish girl names starting with A.

Amarantha is a rare botanical name whose mythical equivalent was believed to be immortal. The Italian and Spanish form is the somewhat-more-acccessible Amaranta.

If you love both unique baby names and flower names for girls, Amaryllis might be a perfect choice for you.

The name of a Guaraní princess killed by Spanish conquistadors in Tupi-Guarani legend. A Ceibo tree – the national flower of Argentina – is said to have bloomed in the spot where she died.

Anemone is a floral name that relates to the ancient Greek myth of the famous love story of Aphrodite and Adonis, in which Aphrodite transforms her wounded lover's blood into a flower, the crimson anemone, whose blossoms are opened by the wind — accounting for its other name, windflower.

This unjustly neglected floral name has a BBC accent and a Greek mythological heritage: Anthea is an epithet of Hera, the Greek queen of the gods, and her name has been used as poetic symbol of spring.

Arden, the name of the magical forest in Shakespeare's As You Like It, is a stylish A name with a strong, straightforward image. Another reason to love Arden: its similarity to "ardent." Arden is solidly unisex, with the current gender distribution running about 60 percent girls and 40 percent boys.

Ethereal combination of Arden and Edith, with a sweet naturey meaning.

Ash has Southern charm plus the arboreal-nature appeal. Plus your little boy will prize Ash as the name of the hero of the Pokemon cartoons. Ash can also be a dashing short form of Asher, Ashton, or any other "Ash" name.

Aspen is part of two groups of stylish and unique baby names: nature names and place-names. The name of a graceful tree in the poplar family with heart-shaped leaves so delicate they quiver in the gentlest breeze, Aspen is also the name of a trendy Colorado ski resort. Aspen started as a unisex name possibility but now is much more frequently worn by girls.

This is a fresh new addition to the botanical list; comedian Gilbert Gottfried made it a real bouquet when he named his daughter Lily Aster. And the name of the little girl on television's Dexter sounds like Aster, but is actually spelled Astor, which brings it more high society name. Aster relates to the Greek word for star. In Ethiopia, Aster is pronounced "ah-STAIR", and is the Amharic variation of Biblical Esther.

Azalea is one of the fresher flower names, along with Zinnia and Lilac, that are new to the name bouquet — in fact, it entered the Social Security list for the first time in 2012. So if Lily and Rose are too tame for you, consider this brilliant pink springtime blossom with a touch of the unusual that has been growing in popularity.

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.

Begonia is a pretty flower named for French administrator and amateur horticulturalist Michel Bégon, who was an avid naturalist but also a proponent of slavery. A rare floral choice which has never really caught on as a baby name, Begonia would certainly stand out from the Lilys and Roses.

Literally meaning "beautiful lady" in Italian, Belladonna is the name of a poisonous flower also known as nightshade. This connection gives an otherwise flowery name a darker, more dramatic edge.

Birch is a rarely used nature name that calls to mind the lovely image of the tall, strong but graceful white-barked tree.

Now that parents have picked virtually every name in the garden, from the common Rose to the captivating Zinnia, some are reconsidering the old, more generic names like Flora and Posy and Blossom — which was last in favor in the 1920s and still has a Floradora showgirl aura.

Unusual floral name which would be perfect for a spring baby girl, if you can pronounce the Welsh double L correctly. It's a tricky sound for non-native Welsh speakers, kind of halfway between an H and an L.

Fairy-tale memories of Sleeping Beauty inspire some parents—such as Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen—to call their daughters Briar Rose. But Briar plus a different middle name might work even better. It's one of the newly popular nature-word names, charting in the US for the first time in 2015 for both genders.

Briony may be the variation and Bryony the original, but many parents will see this as the more authentic-feeling version of this attractive botanical name. Still unusual in the U.S., Briony is in the British Top 100 and may appeal to parents as a fresh spin on Briana or Brittany or an honorific for a Brian, though it bears no relationship to the male name.