Florence
Some of you may have been to Italy and visited its cities. Can you name them? Well, one of these names does not feel like a place name, because of her long history.
Florence, as the vernacular form of the Latin Florentius and Florentia (both meaning "flourishing"), enjoyed unisex usage during the Middle Ages. There was even a St. Florentia (d. 612), along with at least one St. Florentius. Once the Renaissance hit, though, Florence skewed female.
In England, Florence ranked among the top 50 between 1590 and 1619, as well as during the 1640s. She remained uncommon until the Victorian era brought a few notable namesakes: Elizabeth Gaskell's daughter Florence Elizabeth (born 1842), Florence Dombey in Charles Dickens' 1848 novel Dombey and Son, and, of course, nurse Florence Nightingale, who became famous for her Crimean War heroism.
Florence ranked in the English top 100 from the 1850s into the 1930s, while making the top 10 between the 1880s and 1900s. She has a similar story in the United States, where she was in the top 10 from 1887 to 1904 and 1906 and remained a top 100 pick through 1940. Florence fell until she left the top 1000 in 1982. Plus, she was in the New Zealand top 100 between 1900 and 1942.
While Florence has regained her popularity in New Zealand and England, where she has been back in the top 100 since 2008 and the top 10 since 2021, she is still rising in the United States. Since returning to the top 1000 in 2017, Florence has risen into the top 500. With the current fame of actor Florence Pugh, who starred in recent hit movies such as 2019's Little Women, Florence shows no sign of slowing down.
Florence is also popular in Australia, Canada (particularly Quebec), and Scotland. She has enjoyed usage in other languages, such as Belgian and French, as well.
Florence may be a star in the rest of the English world, but she still has time to catch up here. She can honor the Italian city, has a built-in role model in Nightingale, and makes a solid alternative to popular names like Charlotte and Evelyn. Florence has stylish nicknames and a positive meaning, too.
POPULARITY LEVEL: #250-500
NOTABLE REAL-LIFE NAMESAKES:
- English politician John's daughter Florence Poulett (b. 1612)
- English founder of modern nursing Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)
- English writer Elizabeth's daughter Florence Elizabeth Gaskell (1842-1881)
- Former American First Lady Florence Harding (1860-1924)
- American singer and actor Florence Henderson (1934-2016)
- British singer and Florence and the Machine head Florence Welch (1986-)
- British actor Florence Pugh (1996-)
- Character Florence Dombey in Charles Dickens' novel Dombey and Sons (1848)
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