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Thursday, April 4, 2013

Surprising Flower Names for Spring


It has officially been spring now for a couple of weeks. Sorry for not posting about it immediately, but living in Northern Minnesota means Spring is still a few weeks off for us.

To honor spring, I thought I would find  surprising flower names. We all are familiar with names like Rose, Lily, and Violet. And, while they are less common or old fashioned, we also know Petunia, Pansy, and Iris can be used. In the past year Swistle has been asked about a sister for Magnolia and whether Marigold will become trendy. These last two are more what I am looking for. Beautiful naming options, but not common. Marigold has never been in the top 1000 baby names in America, but has the popular name "Mary" in it and sounds natural as a name. Magnolia fell out of the top 1000 in the 1940s, and seems like a mixture of Maggie and Agnes with the popular 'ia" ending.

I think unexpected flower names fall into two categories - flowers everyone knows and just do not think to use as names, and rare or uncommon flowers (or not native to the U.S.) that would make pretty names but would not be necessarily associated with being a flower name unless the person asked or is scientifically inclined. 

Azalea & Zinnia - I actually met a sibset with these two names! A bit matchy together, but either is beautiful on its own, especially for"z" lovers
Calla - Like the more popular Callie/Kali, but with a twist!
Lilac - If Lily is so popular, why doesnt
Begonia -Another "ia" ending!
Gladiolus - OK. I admit it... Gladys made me think why not Gladiolus. Nickname Glady?
Tansy - This one has a bit more spunk!
Lotus - Or the exotic...
Briony - I did not even know that this was a flower until I got onto the baby name blog scene. It seems so much like a girls name!
Chrysanthemum - nick name Chrys?
 
Crossandra - A twist on Alexandra that is also the beautiful orange flower below.

Rafflesia - This reads as a feminine version of Raphael, but is actually one of the rarest flowers in the world!
Cosmos - This could work even for a boy, but there are some other non-flower connotations
Koki'o - Definitely an exotic twist, but I like how it comes off the tongue.


Are there any flower names, popular or rare, that you would consider using? Do you like any of the options here, or are they to "out there"?

4 comments:

  1. You know how traditional I am with names, but I like Calla.

    I actually met someone named Tancy--spelled differently, so I don't know if the inspiration was from the flower or not.

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  2. Calla is pretty

    OOh!! Crossandra! I really like that one :)

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  3. Added bonus with Chrysanthemum are the lovely children's books about girl with the same name!

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  4. Hey this flower is available in india . it's named as "KANAKAMBARAM".

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