Name of the Week: Flora

 

 

Origin:

Roman fresco of goddess Flora from Stabiae 1st century A.D. Flora was the name of the Roman goddess of flowers, vegetation, fertility and the spring. Her worship was established early in Rome and her temple, said to have been founded by the legendary king Titus Tatius who co-ruled with Romulus, stood near the Circus Maximus. Her festival, called the Floralia — which was instituted in 238 BCE and celebrated from the 28th of April till the 1st of May — was one of merriment and frivolity where people wore brightly coloured clothing and included the Ludi Florae, the "Games of Flora" and comic theatre.  The name Flora derives from the Latin flos (accusative florem, genitive floris) "flower." Due to the similarity of the names, Flora later became identified with the Greek goddess Chloris (whose own name derived from khlōrós "green (buds), fresh, verdant") who was also goddess of flowers.

Usage:

There are a few examples of Floria in use in the Middle Ages: it appears in the Pipe Rolls of London in 1192; the Subsidy Rolls of Kent in 1381 and the borders of Scotland in the 13th century* for example. In some cases, this may have been influenced by the 9th century Spanish martyr, Saint Floria (sometimes called Flora) but mostly seems to have been a Latinised form of the name Flory/Fluri, from the Latin flos "flower" via the Old French flur, which can also be found in small numbers.  This name partly contributed to the use of the surnames Fleury, Florey, Flury and Flower(s). The surname Florkin represents that the name Flury even developed a diminutive form: Flur+kin.* Flower was used as a Middle English form in the 16th century.*  Flora itself came into use in the 16th century, and took hold particularly in Scotland. E. G. Withycombe* attributes the early use to Scotland's alliance with France, while K.M. Sheard* points out that Flora was used particularly to render the Gaelic name Fionnuala/Fionnghal into English. Flora MacDonald (1722-1790) —whose name in Gaelic was Fionnghal nic Dhòmhnaill— was a Scottish heroine who became famous for helping Bonnie Prince Charlie "The Young Pretender" escape from Scotland after the defeat of the Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Data from The Surname Atlas (click to enlarge) Even by the late 19th century, when Flora had moved up into the top 100 in England and Wales, it was still disproportionately used in Scotland in comparison, as we can see from data from the 1881 UK census (see image right).  Even by 1900, Flora ranked #32 in Scotland.  Flora increased in use over the course of the 19th century in England and Wales, ranking #111 in 1850, #86 in 1860, #67 in 1870, #70 in 1880, #98 in 1890 and #120 in 1900.  Birth records in England and Wales for Flora: 1840s:  1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 692 births 1508 births 4364 births 10,516 birth 8139 births 5102 birth 4054 births 2688 births 1355 births 597 births 282 births 137 births 157 births 207  births From it's peak in the 1870s, Flora steadily declined in use in England and Wales, levelling out from the 1950s. It is interesting to note that in the 1950s and 60s, many Floras in the Birth Index were born to parents with Greek surnames, particularly in London.  At the turn of the 21st century, Flora was remarkably consistent in use year on year in England and Wales. From 1998 to 2008 it had a birth count of between 77 to 91, and from 2009 to 2014 had a birth count between 100 to 116.  In 2015, Flora rose to #305 with 158 births and rose again in 2016 to #291 with 171 births.  It was most popular in England in the South West, where it ranked #185 in 2016, followed by the East (#216) and London (#223). In Scotland, Flora fluctuated in use from 1974 to 2011 with anything from 2 to 18 births in any given year and never breaking into the the top 100.  From 2012, however, Flora began to rise in use, as births in Scotland show below: 2000 #371 7 2001 #324 9 2002 #344 8 2003 #286 11 2004 #245 14 2005 #414 7 2006 #293 12 2007 #401 8 2008 #273 15 2009 #278 15 2010 #318 12 2011 #287 14 2012 #241 19 2013 #238 17 2014 #191 24 2015 #151 31 2016 #142 34

Famous Bearers:

History: * Flora MacDonald (1722–1790), Scottish Jacobite heroine.  * Flora Tristan (1803–1844), French writer and feminist. * Flora Stevenson (1839–1905), British educational reformer. * Flora Annie Steel (1847–1929), British writer. * Flora Murray (1869–1923), British doctor and suffragette. * Flora Thompson (1876–1947), British writer. * Flora Twort (1893–1985), British painter. * Flora Eldershaw (1897–1956), Australian writer. * Flora Robson (1902–1984), British actress. * Flora Carabella (1926–1999), Italian actress. * Flora Nwapa (1931–1993), Nigerian author. Contemporary: * Flora Montgomery (born 1974), British actress. * Flora Redoumi (born 1976), Greek hurdler. * Flora Coquerel (born 1994), French model. Literature and Other Media: * Flora, one of the Good Fairies in the Disney film Sleeping Beauty. * Flora Baumbach, fictional character in the novel The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. * Flora Northrop, fictional character in the Main Street book series by Ann M. Martin.

Variants:

Fflur (Welsh), Fleur (French) Floor (Dutch)

Pronunciation:

FLOR-ə  [key]

Possible  Diminutives:

Florrie, Flossie

Sibling Names:

Jemima     Polly     Constance     Aurelia     Tabitha     Primrose  Fraser     Rafe     Magnus      Hugo     Hector      Monty

Name Lists:

Dulcet Dainties   Vintage Names     God and Goddesses   Dickensian Names   Tennyson Names  Operatic Appellations   Butterfly Names

 

If you like Flora you may also like:   Aurora, Nova, Luna, Cora, Pippa, Ophelia, Viola, Rosa, Calla, Peony

Thanks to Jess for requesting this name.