Flower Child: The Most Popular Floral Baby Name in Michigan

Rose, Heather and Jasmine have had their time. There's a new favorite in Michigan for baby names that are also flowers.

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

-William Shakespeare

When Juliet tells Romeo this, she means that, even though his surname Montague means that he should be an ugly rival to her (a Capulet), it matters not. We're not sure if it was the Bard or, more likely, the flower that was the inspiration, but for 40 years, "Rose" was the most popular baby name from the floral kingdom. When you look at the entire 20th century, Rose, Rosa, Rosemary, Rosalie, Rosanna, Rosalind, and Rosella all make the list. Cynthia, Iris and Veronica were all at the very top of the century list too.

Baby names seem to go in trends, from Robert, Michael, David, and James to Olivia, Emma, Ava and Sophia. What's popular now? Spring Hill Nursery looked at the data to find the most popular flower names in each state. In Michigan, "Lily" is the most-searched flower name for a child. It has also been the hottest nationally for the last decade. Take a look:

Most Popular Flower Name:

• 1900-1939: Rose
• 1940-1970: Susan
• 1971-1991: Heather
• 1992-2006: Jasmine
• 2007-2019: Lily

Not being a gardener, I was surprised at a few names on the list, like Erica, Susan, Veronica and Rhoda- I had no idea these were the names of flowers too. The ones you'd guess are there; Holly, Violet, Yasmin, and Blossom, but I've yet to meet a Briar or Poppy. Take a look at all of the most popular baby names that are also flowers here and think Spring!