Florence

Latin
"flourishing, prosperous"

Florence Origin and Meaning

The name Florence is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "flourishing, prosperous".

Florence is back, returning to the US Top 1000 girl names in 2017 after a nearly 40 year absence. Other English-speaking countries have been quicker to welcome Florence back into fashion.

The name has a lot going for it, both for its floral feel and as a place name connection to the lovely Italian city (after which Florence Nightingale was named—it was her birthplace). The association to the city seems to be helping Florence stir back to life, along with cousin Flora.

The band Florence + the Machine, headlined by red-haired Florence Welch, has also helped to rejuvenate its image.

Florence was most popular in the US at the turn of the last century and in the early decades of the twentieth—it was in the Top 10 from 1886 to 1906.

Florence has a diverse mixture of namesakes and references—a character in Dickens's Dombey & Sons, a US First Lady (Harding), one of the Supremes, the Brady Bunch's Henderson, track and field star Florence Griffith Joyner, and several TV characters.

Florence has some particularly lively nicknames—Flo, Flossie, and Florrie.

# 521 in the US

Florence Rank in US Top 1000

# 103 on Nameberry

Florence Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Florence Popularity

Famous People Named Florence

  • Florence Nightingale
    English pioneering nurse
  • Florence Glenda Ballard
    American singer of The Supremes
  • Florence Leontine Mary Welch
    English singer of Florence and the Machine
  • Florence Caroline Dixie
    English journalist and feminist
  • Florence Delorez Griffith
    Joyner, American Olympic sprinter
  • Florence Mabel Kling Harding
    wife of U.S. president Warren G. Harding
  • Florence Agnes Henderson
    American actress and singer
  • (Narcissa) Florence Foster Jenkins
    American operatic soprano
  • Florence Kelley
    American social reformer and feminist
  • Florence Virginia King
    American novelist
  • Florence Knight
    English celebrity chef
  • Florence Reed
    American actress
  • Florence Ada Fuller
    Australian painter
  • Florence "Flee" Brudenell
    Bruce, English model
  • Florence Rena Sabin
    American medical scientist
  • Florence Sophie (Schorske) Wald
    American pioneering hospice nurse
  • Florence Reece
    American union activist and songwriter
  • Florence Clive
    daughter of actress Michelle Newell and John Clive
  • Florence Faivre
    French,Thai actress
  • Florence Elsie Outhwaite (b. 2008)
    daughter of actors Tamzin Outhwaite and Tom Ellis
  • Florence Rose Endellion Cameron (b. 2010)
    daughter of British Prime Minister David Cameron
  • Florence Myra Zamparelli
    daughter of TV presenter Jennifer Maguire & Lauterio Zamparelli
  • Florence May King (b. 2016)
    daughter of actress Candice Accola and The Fray's guitarist Joe King
  • Florence Pugh
    English actress
  • Florence Chadwick
    American swimmer
  • Florence Given
    English author and feminist illustrator

Florence in Pop Culture

  • Florence Johnston
    character on TV's "The Jeffersons"
  • Florence Jean Castleberry
    character in the film "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore"
  • Florence
    character in animated series "The Magic Roundabout"
  • Florence
    character in "The Unwanteds" series by Lisa McMann
  • Florence de Grey
    character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
  • Florence Hayes
    (male) character in Bravo's "Imposters"
  • Hurricane Florence
    2018 storm
  • Florence Cassell
    character on BBC's "Death in Paradise"