Name Help: A Floral Sister for Hattie

 

Kate is expecting her second daughter —a sister for Louisa Hortensia "Hattie"

Kate writes: "I’m searching for the perfect name for my second daughter. My first daughter is named Louisa Hortensia, and we call her Hattie. Her middle name is after my grandmother, Hortense (who was also nicknamed Hattie). 

My grandmother, Hortense, was one of 6 sisters, all named after flowers. The other sisters were Lillian, Rosalie, Marguerite, Flora, and Maile. Their father owned a popular florist shop, and each sister worked there at one point or another. The flower shop and the building itself went on to be somewhat of a historic landmark where I live with my family.

 

So, my dilemma is that I absolutely love the Victorian/Edwardian style floral names that the “sisters” all had, but I’d prefer to not reuse any more of their names, after using Hortense/Hortensia. My other grandmother (from my mother’s side) was named Marta, and I was very close with her. I wouldn’t feel right naming a child after a great aunt before naming one after her. I don’t think I can get on board with the name Marta, though, because of the hard “d” sound that Americans add to it (marDa).

 

So, long story short, I’m searching for a perfect flower name that is similar in style to the “sisters.” We are also Catholic, and it’s likely we would use a Christian name as the first name, and a flower name as the middle name, and possibly nickname her based on the middle (like we did with Hattie)."

 

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Oh, I do so love Victorian floral names. I just love how they embraced pretty much all flower names, not shying away from Bluebell, Snowdrop, Tulip, Orchid or Daffodil. One my early posts was about Victorian and Edwardian floral themed sibling sets and you can see just how wonderfully bold their floral tastes were.

 

Honouring Marta

I completely understand the feeling of wanting to honour a beloved relative, but not feeling like their name is usable for your tastes. My son has both of my grandfather's names, but my grandmothers' (Edna and Phyllis) never made the cut on our girls' list. I did, however, have plenty of E and P options as a nod to them. 

The obvious way to honour your grandmother Marta would be to use a variant of her name (as you did with Hortense > Hortensia). Martha has a much softer sound and would make a great first name coupled with a floral middle: Martha Lavender or Martha Delphine for example. Martha is also a rose variation.

Alternatively, you could use a floral M name, especially one that echoes the same letters as Marta:

Magnolia – Beautiful flowering shrubs and trees named for Pierre Magnol, Magnolia has a great Victorian feel and could easily become Maggie or Nola.

Manettia – Named for Saverio Manetti but commonly known as the Candy Corn Plant or Firecracker Vine. Minnie or Etta could be nicknames. 

Maranta – All the same letters and order as Marta but with an additional 'an'. Maranta is named after Bartolomeo Maranta but commonly known as the Prayer Plant. 

Marigold – Sweetly old-fashioned, Marigold is a combination of (the Virgin) Mary and "gold" referring to its colour. It can be shortened to Mari, Maggie, or Goldie. 

Martynia – As close a floral name as you can get to Marta, Martynia is named in honour of botanist John Martyn; its common name is "cat's claw" or "tiger's claw". Mari, Minnie or Tina could be nicknames. 

Mignonette – A favourite for the Victorians (there are several in my Victorian Floral Siblings post) Mignonette means "little darling". Minnie, Midge, Nonie or Etta could be nicknames.

 

Other Florals:

Amaryllis – Sporting the -is ending that the Edwardians loved so much, the amaryllis is named for Virgil's heroine in his epic poem Eclogues, the name means "to sparkle". It can be shortened to Amy, Mari, Mallie, Millie and Lily. 

Angelica – Called "angel-like" for their healing properties, Angelica are waterside perennial plants.

Azalea –  Beautiful plants known as the “Royalty of the Garden” because of the vibrant flowers. Zelie makes for a lovely nickname and also doubles as a saint's name.

Camellia – Another Victorian floral favourite (there were nearly 200 women and girls named Camelia/Camellia on the 1901 UK census) the fowering shrub is named for Georg Josef Kamel. Cammy, Callie or Millie could be nicknames. 

Cassandra – A romantic vintage name -- Jane Austen's sister was named Cassandra, for example -- which is associated with several plants including the leatherleaf, chrysanthemum and Clematis. 

Clematis – A gardener favourite due to its masses of different coloured and shaped flowers, Clematis a sweet yet unexpected floral name which the Victorians used. 

Dahlia – Named after Andreas Dahl, dahlias are relatives of sunflowers and daisies. Dolly can be used as a vintage short form. 

Jessamine / Jessamy – Poetic versions of the fragrant Jasmine, Jessamine/Jessamy was used throughout the 19th and early 20th century.

Juniper– The name of a tree which produces sweet berries which can be shortened to Juno or Junie.

Nolana – Meaning "little bell" due to the same of the flowers, Nolana easily lends itself to vintage Nola or Nonie.

Primrose – A sweet Spring flower which can be shortened to Posy, Rose, Rosie or Prim.

Rhodora – Also known as Canada rosebay, rhodora is a flowering plant that was named after the Greek rhodon "rose" because of the colour of the flowers. 

Thespesia – A flowering plant related to the hibiscus which could be shortened to Thea or Tess.

Valentina – The valentina (or acis valentina) is a pretty white flower native to Spain. The name itself derives from the Latin valens meaning "strong, vigorous, healthy".

Veronica  – This saintly name is also the scientific name of the speedwell flowering plant -- though they are more commonly called "veronica plants" these days.

 

I hope this has been of use. Good luck with settling on the perfect name for your new family addition. 

 

UPDATE: Welcome, Josephine Magnolia!