Florence
Stately and sweet, Florence is a proper little lady.
It isn't a royal name -- but it feels like it should be.
Origin:
Florence is the Anglicised form of both the Roman names Florentius and Florentia, meaning "belonging to Florens," which was a common Roman cognomen. Florens itself means "blossoming," derived from floreo meaning "to blossom, flower, flourish."
Florence is also the English name given to the Italian city of Firenze. There are several theories as to how the city came by its name. The most plausible are either that it derived from the Latin Colonia Florentia meaning "flowering colony" (possibly as a figurative term) or that it was a corruption of Fluentia from fluens "to flow" owing to the fact that it was situated between two rivers.
Usage:
In the Middle Ages, Florence was used as both a masculine and a feminine name, most likely thanks to its use by saints or to denote a person being "of Florence". There are several Saints Florentius, including a 3rd century Roman martyr, and a St Florentia (d. c. 303). Latinised forms included Florentius, Florentia and Florencia, though all were called by the vernacular Florence.
Also in use was similar Floria, derived from the Old French flur "flower," which were used in the vernacular form Flur/Fluri and often used with the epithet 'sweet'. Florkin was used as a diminutive.
Florence was never wildly common, but it was used enough for it to engender the surname Florence. Notable namesakes include Florence of Worcester (d. 1118), a renowned monk and chronicler, Florence (or Floris) of Holland (d.1210), a 13th century nobleman and cleric, and Florence Wilson "Florentius Volusenus" (c. 1504–1547), a Scottish humanist.
After the 15th century, Florence became far less common as a masculine name, but it maintained better use as a female name. There were exceptions of course, which mostly depended on local area. In Midlothian, Cumbria and Hereford, for example, it clung on as a masculine name for quite a while and eve in my poll of the most popular Elizabethan Norfolk names, Florence was only used once -- for a male.
Overall however, Florence became more common for girls, especially among the peerage. For example, Florence Poulett (b.1612), daughter of politician John Poulett, 1st Baron Poulett had a niece named after her, which was then passed down from mother to daughter for several generations.
In his top 50 rankings from 1538-1700, Smith Bannister lists Florence four times for girls: 1590-9: #38; 1600-9: #47; 1610-9: #44; 1640-9: #47.
In Ireland, Florence was maintained for much longer as a masculine name thanks to its being used to render several Irish names such as Flaithrí and Fingin. Notable examples include Fláithrí Ó Maolchonaire "Florence Conroy" (1560– 1629), an Irish Franciscan and theologian and Florence "Flurry" Knox, a pub landlord in the novel Some Experiences of an Irish RM (1899) by Somerville and Ross.
In the first half of the 19th century, Florence was in moderate use. Initially wasn't especially popular it doesn't appear in Dunkling's top 50 girls names for England and Wales in 1700, 1800 or 1850 but it was used continually, and still occasionally for boys.
Dickens used the name for his character Florence Dombey in Dombey and Son (1846) which seems to have given the name considerable boost, and author Elizabeth Gaskell named one of her daughters Florence Elizabeth in 1842. Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) was so named because she was born in the city of Florence in Italy, as was and this was perhaps the influence for other parents as Florence was a fashionable destination for wealthy English Victorians.
A further boost to Florence's fortune came with the event of the Crimean War from 1853-1856. Parents clamoured to give their children eventful names. Battles led to several babies being named Alma, Balaklava, Inkerman, and Sebastopol and names notable figures were also used. Thanks to her part in the war effort and her being used as by the British government as a poster girl, Florence Nightingale became an overnight sensation and national treasure.
Births in England and Wales:
1838: 26 births
1840: 21 births (at least 3 males)
1842: 63 births (at least 5 males)
1844: 50 births
1846: 86 births -- The year Dombey and Sons was published.
1848: 256 births
1850: 247 births
1852: 398 births
1854: 545 births -- The year Florence Nightingale went to the Crimea.
1856: 1677 births
1858: 1522 births
1881 Florence
Click to enlarge
As we can see, effect of both Dickens and Florence Nightingale the name Florence was marked and it went from strength to strength.
From not ranking in the top 50 in 1850, it was #14 by 1870, #6 in 1880, #3 in 1890, and #2 in 1900. Data from the 1881 census shows that it was most prevalent in England, especially in the southern counties, though it did reach #49 in Scotland by 1900.
It maintained it's popularity initially in the 20th century, but gradually began to decline. It was #2 in 1904, #6 in 1914, #23 in 1924 and #49 in 1934, after which it fell out of the top 100.
This can be seen in Dunkling's data for the number of girls registered with the name in every 10,000 births in England and Wales over the 20th century:
1900 1925 1935 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990
394 142 44 10 4 - - 4 - - 6 -
Births for FlorenceFrom 1996 to 2003, Florence bobbed along comfortably in the bottom quarter of the top 200 in England and Wales. It gradually began to pick up from 2004, bursting into the top 100 in 2008 at #94. Since then it has risen steeply, ranking #54 in 2010, #34 in 2012 and #29 in 2013.
As it was in the 19th century, Florence proves it's still very much an English rose.
Individually, Florence is much less popular in Wales than England (#71 in 2013 compared to #29 in England) while it has yet to reach the top 100 in Scotland and Northern Ireland in recent years
In Scotland, the name has ranked consistently between #100-#300: #233 in 2010, #142 in 2011, #203 in 2012 and #155 in 2013.
In Northern Ireland, Florence has had no more than 8 births in any given year, peaking at #229 in 2012 and ranking #284 in 2013.
Famous Bearers:
History:
- Florence of Worcester (d. 1118), a renowned monk and chronicler.
- Florence Wilson "Florentius Volusenus" (c. 1504–1547), a Scottish humanist.
- Fláithrí Ó Maolchonaire "Florence Conroy" (1560– 1629), an Irish Franciscan and theologian.
- Florence Caddy (1837–1923), English writer.
- Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), pioneer of modern nursing.
- Florence LaBadie (1888-1917), Canadian silent movie actress.
- Florence Lawrence (1890-1938), inventor and actress, referred to as "The First Movie Star."
- Florence Marjorie Robertson "Dame Anna Neagle" (1904-1986), British actress and singer.
Contemporary:
- Florence Bjelke-Petersen (b.1920) Australian politician and writer.
- Florence Henderson (b.1934), American actress and singer.
- Florence King (b.1936), American author.
- Florence Welch (b.1986), British singer and frontwoman of Florence & the Machine.
Literature and Other Media:
- Florence Dombey, a charcter in Dicken's novel Dombey and Son (1846).
- Florence "Flurry" Knox, a pub landlord in the novel Some Experiences of an Irish RM (1899) by Somerville and Ross.
Variants: Florentine, Florentina; Florentia, Florentius (Late Roman), Florenz (German), Floor, Floris (Dutch), Fiorenza, Fiorenzo (Italian)
