Names That Mean Flower

Rosemarie had its moment in the sun back in the middle of the last century, when parents were looking for new ways to recycle traditional family names. So a child might combine her two grandma's names and become Rosemarie (or Annmarie or Maryjean), but these combination names feel dated now.

Any of the Y forms, which also include Yasmeen, Yasmin, and Yasmina, make this name more unusual and distinctive.

The th sound both softens and complicates this Melanie relative.

Depending on which characters you use, this Japanese name can have many meanings. The first part can mean "love, affection" or "indigo", while kanji for the second element include those meaning flower, perfume, include, sing, and praise. Whichever you choose, this is a distinctive Japanese name that travels easily into other languages.

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.

Diantha, a mythological flower of the supreme Greek god Zeus, is a melodious and more unusual cousin of Diana, heard most often in The Netherlands.

Rapunzel is famous as the long-haired heroine of the fairy tale, locked in a tower only to fall in love with a handsome prince who climbed to her side via her hair. Rapunzel has never been widely used as a first name the way, say, Aurora -- the mortal name of Sleeping Beauty -- has. Like Cinderella, it's too closely identified with the fairy tale to really take off as a girls' name. In German, it's the name of several varieties of wild-growing, edible leaves. Read more about Rapunzel and other Disney Princess Names in our featured blog.

Abbreviated form of Zahara that was used by Chris Rock for his daughter and as a middle name by both Eddie Murphy and David Bowie. Compared with the even-more-abbreviated Zara, Zahra may create more spelling problems but clarify pronunciation.

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.

Rihanna put Rose on the map for baby boys when she used it as the middle name for her son Riot. If James is a modern favorite middle name for girls, why not Rose for boys?

Quirky and charming flower name. Thistle is Scotland's national symbol.

Zahara, a delicate but strong multicultural name, came into the spotlight when Angelina Jolie bestowed it on her Ethiopian-born daughter, and we predict other parents will adopt it as well. If you want something simpler than Zahara, consider Zara, a royal name in England--but also the name of a Spanish-based clothing store chain.

Another of the new Greek-accented Cal- names.

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. Perhaps-more-pleasing Petunia alternatives: Petal, Posy, Poppy.

An attractive enough name, but for die-hard Star Wars fans only.

Kyōka Izumi was a 19th-century surrealist author. He was a man, but a female character in the anime series Bungo Stray Dogs was named after him in full.

The Vietnamese name Quynh, pronounced exactly like the Irish gender neutral name Quinn, is a perfect cross-cultural choice with a lovely meaning.

Attractive but slight Asian alternative, with a 1970s nickname feel.

Hanako has a delicate sound and quaint meaning -- but there's a catch. According to widespread urban legend in Japan, Hanako is the name of the ghost of a little girl who haunts school bathrooms, who sometimes answers if you call her name.

More uncommon and powerful than garden varieties like Rose and Lily. Named for Scottish botanist Dr Alexander Garden.