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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Botanical girls names - please vote!

109 replies

sunshineandmango · 05/05/2023 15:21

Hello all

DH and I have finally narrowed down our list to our two favourite names, which we both love. We’ve considered lots of names but botanical names do hold a personal significance for us so we’ve decided this is the way to go!

Lily
Flora

Which is your favourite and why? And how popular is Lily in your experience? It’s in the top 10 but I personally don’t know any!

Thank you 💐

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aSofaNearYou · 06/05/2023 13:42

EatTheDamnCake · 06/05/2023 13:34

I also know a few Clovers btw. Nobody mentions the spread!

Haha I definitely would. I'd sing the song too.

I don't think the fact that people will think of a certain thing is always a deal breaker - but nonetheless the association in this case is a strong one.

FayCarew · 06/05/2023 13:41

Willow.

Willow Original Spread 250G - Tesco Groceries
Other supermarkets sell it

EatTheDamnCake · 06/05/2023 13:34

I also know a few Clovers btw. Nobody mentions the spread!

EatTheDamnCake · 06/05/2023 13:34

I meet the odd Liliana which I quite like as an alternative.

I don't understand why the margarine thing is such an issue. I don't know the last time I saw it outside a supermarket tbh

aSofaNearYou · 06/05/2023 13:31

sunshineandmango · 06/05/2023 13:15

@AccidentallyFabulous @EatTheDamnCake @almostwarm thank you for the reassurance regarding all of Flora’s lovely associations, to me these far outweigh the fact it’s also been used to name a spread

I think it's because I've never met a Flora. I didn't realise people used it as a name until recently, and the spread is a very common brand. So it's not just like "yes it's a name and the spread might pop into my head", it just IS the spread. She might as well be Clover or Lurpak!

Original poster
sunshineandmango · 06/05/2023 13:29

@polkadotdalmation haha thank you, I agree! But you can’t help but doubt yourself when you read comments like that 😬

OP posts:
polkadotdalmation · 06/05/2023 13:23

Whoever said vaginal flora, has some serious association issues.

polkadotdalmation · 06/05/2023 13:22

Flora. Lily is done to death

Original poster
sunshineandmango · 06/05/2023 13:15

@AccidentallyFabulous @EatTheDamnCake @almostwarm thank you for the reassurance regarding all of Flora’s lovely associations, to me these far outweigh the fact it’s also been used to name a spread

OP posts:
Original poster
sunshineandmango · 06/05/2023 08:54

@UptobedNOW thanks so much for sharing your experience. I’m so glad that she hasn’t been subjected to any problems at school. It’s a beautiful name choice.

OP posts:
UptobedNOW · 06/05/2023 08:39

My 11 year old is a Flora. We love her name and there have never been any derogatory comments about it - only compliments.

MagpieSong · 06/05/2023 08:27

Flora, less hugely popular and a beautiful name.

Original poster
sunshineandmango · 06/05/2023 08:26

Thanks all.
@Mrsstart Lillia is a gorgeous suggestion, thank you

OP posts:
Enko · 05/05/2023 22:47

I love Flora its so pretty

Lily is overdone for me.

Mrsstart · 05/05/2023 22:23

@sunshineandmango Lily is very popular in my area and I agree I feel like it's a name that is so done.
I do like Flora, we've actually considered but I ruled out because of cheap butter connotations
What about Lillia?
There's so many beautiful floral names out there x

Original poster
sunshineandmango · 05/05/2023 22:00

@MsMcGonagall not a fan of Florence, find it quite frumpy for some reason. Thanks for the suggestion though

OP posts:
EatTheDamnCake · 05/05/2023 21:55

I prefer Flora. I meet a lot of secondary aged children due to work and there are a lot of girls named Lily/Lilly/Lillie. That's before you add all the Lily-May, Lily-Rose, Lily-Grace type names.

I also prefer Flora as it has better connotations. It sounds classier to me

MsMcGonagall · 05/05/2023 21:50

what about Florence? gets away from the gut flora issue

Original poster
sunshineandmango · 05/05/2023 21:47

@Londonlady1423 you make a good point about popularity, and we certainly wouldn’t let this dissuade is from using Lily (I was more curious as it seems very popular in the tables but I’m yet to meet one.) We just genuinely can’t decide which of these names we prefer!

@notsurewherenotsurewhy yes I think we have considered every botanical name out there (plus many many others!) Poppy was a close third but these are definitely are favourites. I don’t feel Lily is disconnected from its meaning to us, but thanks for sharing yours views :)

OP posts:
notsurewherenotsurewhy · 05/05/2023 21:41

Of the two, I prefer Lily (I agree with a pp, it's popular because it's pretty!) BUT I also think it's been so well used for so long that it feels kind of disconnected from its meaning, if that makes sense. (I feel similarly about Grace, which I really wanted to use as DD's middle name - the Christian meaning of that was important and beautiful to me, but as a name and esp a middle name I think it's become kind of mindless filler, and that put me off hugely.)

I know you've narrowed it down to these two for your own good reasons, but personally there are botanical girls' names I'd choose far ahead of these - Ivy, Hazel, Rowan...

Londonlady1423 · 05/05/2023 21:26

Lily is a beautiful name hence why it's popular. I don't get parents choosing names based on popularity, if you like the name use it. Choosing an unusual name doesn't guarantee they'll be the only one with that name in a class.

Flora seems a bit more trendy at the moment while Lily is more classic. I know 2 flora's under the age of 5 and also a Florence. I know no lily's

MotherofPearl · 05/05/2023 20:10

Flora is lovely and has no adverse associations for me.

For botanical names I also like:

Marigold
Violet
Iris

almostwarm · 05/05/2023 20:04

I think of Flora MacDonald first.

AccidentallyFabulous · 05/05/2023 19:40

Flora. It's much nicer, and my first thought is of Flora Poste, heroine of a brilliant book.

ArbitraryHaddock · 05/05/2023 19:35

Definitely gut flora for me, though I’m not a fan of Lily, really either.

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