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May Flowers

© Kristen Hanley Cardozo

If April showers fulfill their promise, May is a month of flowers. Flower names for girls have long been traditional in many cultures. A bouquet of girls' names span the horticultural world, covering nearly every flower known to each particular culture.

On the male front, floral names remain more elusive. Apparently it is a truth universally held that flower names are not manly. While I might beg to differ, and while there are a few holdouts like Jacinto ("hyacinth"), the exceptions tend to prove the rule in this instance.

However, I find there is another source for my May flowers this month. While I present a garden of names for girls, I have also found the passenger list for the Mayflower. The play on words might be a tad appalling, but the names are interesting and many. This month, girl names are all floral in nature, and all boy names come from the Mayflower passenger list. Many English floral names are Greek, interestingly enough. Enjoy!

Girls:
Anemone (Greek) Refers to the anemone flower, which derives its name from the Greek word for wind
Ardith (Hebrew) "blooming meadow"
Calantha (Greek) "beautiful flower"
Dahlia (English) Refers to the dahlia flower, named for Swedish botantist Anders Dahl
Daisy (English) Refers to the daisy flower, which derives its name from an Old English word meaning "day eye"
Erianthe (Greek) "one who loves flowers"
Evanthe (Greek) "good flower"
Hyacinth (Greek) refers to the hyacinth flower
Iris (Greek) "rainbow", usually refers to the iris flower in English
Jacinta (Spanish) "hyacinth" Pronounced: hah-SEEN-tah
Jasmine (Persian) the jasmine flower
Kiri (Sanskrit) "amaranth flower"
Lan (Chinese) "orchid"
Lavender (English) the lavender flower
Lien (Vietnamese) "lotus"
Lily (Latin) Refers to the lily flower, name derived from the Latin word for "pure"
Mei (Chinese) among other meanings, "plum blossom"
Melantha (Greek) "dark flower"
Padma (Sanskrit) "lotus"
Pansy (Old French) Refers to the pansy flower, derived from the Old French for "thought"
Rhoda (Greek) "rose"
Rose (English) the rose flower
Susannah (Hebrew) "lily"
Vandelia (Spanish) "a flowering plant"
Violet (English) the purple flower
Yuriko (Japanese) among other meanings, "lily child"

Boys:
Bartholomew (Greek) "son of Talmai"
Christopher (Greek) "Christ bearer"
Degory (English) Possibly a form of Diggory, a name of uncertain etymology
Edmund (Old English) "rich protector"
Edward (Old English) "rich guard"
Elias (Greek) "my God is Yahweh"
Francis (Latin) "a Frenchman"
George (Greek) "farmer"
Gilbert (Norman) "bright pledge"
Giles (Greek) "young goat"
Henry (Germanic) "home ruler"
Isaac (Hebrew) "he laughs"
James (English) "the supplanter"
Jasper (Persian) "treasurer"
John (English) "Yahweh is gracious"
Joseph (Latin) "he will add"
Myles (English) Meaning uncertain...possibly "soldier"
Oceanus (English) Born on the voyage over, Oceanus Hopkins was named for his place of birth.
Peter (Greek) "stone"

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