Names That Mean Flower

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.

The Japanese equivalent of Violet, common among Millennial and Gen Z Japanese women.

Now that Lily has become hugely popular, parents in love with this flower name are looking further afield for substitutes such as Liliane and Liliana.

Rayen is well-known in Chile, and sometimes seen in the Netherlands, as a Mapuche girls name meaning flower. This name could be an alternative to people who like Ryan but want to keep it as a boys name or as a spunkier alternative to other names that mean flower, such as Fleur and Flora.

The Norwegian word for "honeysuckle" could make for a fresh and vibrant nature-inspired choice.

The lotus is a meaningful symbol in many East Asian cultures, where it symbolizes purity, enlightenment, and rebirth. As a name, it's much more common among baby girls, but a small number of boys are named Lotus each year.

Jessamy and big sister Jessamine are all but unknown in the U.S., but make distinctive alternatives to overexposed Jessica, Jessie, and Jasmine.

A rare, free-feeling flower name for the parent who wants to move far, far beyond Rose and Daisy. Named for German physician Friedrich Freese.

An unusual floral -wen name which was the name of an 1878 opera by Welsh composer Joseph Parry.

Fiorello is one of the few floral names that works well for a boy. The colorful three-term World War II New York Mayor La Guardia made this one famous -- in fact he was nicknamed "the Little Flower". His life was the basis for the 1959 musical called, appropriately, "Fiorello!"

Pema is related to the more familiar Hindu name Padma and means lotus flower. This delightful name was given to only 14 girls in the USA last year, so it's guaranteed to be a unique choice. Pema is probably most familiar to Westerners through Buddhist nun Pema Chodron and through Jetsun Pema, the Dalai Lama's sister.

A pretty plant with pink or lilac flowers.

An extremely common Japanese name, especially among women.

The name of a sympathetic character in the best-selling novel The Secret Life of Bees, though it feels more stylish these days spelled Rosaline.

If English is your native language, it might be best to go with Fleur.

This yellow harbinger spring bloom was named for Scottish botanist William Forsyth, and is even more unusual than such species as Acacia and Azalea.

Pansy is an early floral name that lost credibility when it became a derogatory slang term for gay people. Better these days: Posy or Poppy.

Bleuenn is a name virtually unknown in the English-speaking world but trendy in its native France. Bleuenn's origins are in Brittany, in the north of France, and it's related to the Welsh Blodwen. Other spellings include Bleuen and Bleunwenn. This might give the perfect twist to a color name that feels too slight.

This perky Spanish nickname deserves to be more popular. Singer Michael Bublé recently used it as one of the middle names for his daughter Cielo, which may give Yoli a boost.

This floral name, related to bloom and Blossom, is common in the Jewish community, but not often heard outside it. Other Yiddish nature names are Ita (star), Masha (rising water), and Mayim (water).