Looking for baby names that are associated with purple — including baby names that mean “purple”?
If so, you’ve come to the right place! I’ve collected dozens of options for you in this post.
Before we get to the names, though, let’s take a quick look at what the color purple represents…
Symbolism of purple
What does the color purple signify?
In Western cultures in particular, purple can be symbolic of:
- Royalty
- Nobility
- Wisdom
- Luxury
- Imagination
- Mystery
- Spirituality
The color came to be identified with royalty and nobility during ancient times. In those days, creating purple dye for fabric was laborious and time-consuming, so the dye was very expensive. As a result, only the wealthy could afford to wear purple-colored clothing.
Baby names associated with purple
All of the names below are associated with the color purple. The names range from traditional to unusual, and their associations range from strong to slight.
Those that have been popular enough to appear in the U.S. baby name data are linked to their corresponding popularity graphs.
Amaranth
Amaranth flowers are sometimes purple. The genus name Amaranthus is derived from a combination of the Ancient Greek words amarantos, meaning “unfading,” and anthos, meaning “flower.” Here’s the popularity graph for Amaranth.
Amethyst
The word amethyst refers to a purple variety of the mineral quartz. (The Ancient Greeks thought that amethyst — perhaps due to its wine-like color — would prevent drunkenness, so they called it amethustos, meaning “not intoxicating.”) By extension, the word also refers to the purple color of these crystals. Amethyst will only form in quartz that: (a) contains trace amounts of iron, and (b) is exposed to low-level gamma radiation. The radiation will oxidize the iron, and thereby change the crystal’s color from clear to purple. Here’s the popularity graph for Amethyst.
Aster
Aster flowers are often purple. The genus name Aster, derived from the Ancient Greek word aster, meaning “star,” is a reference to the shape of the flower head. Here’s the popularity graph for Aster.
Aubrieta
Aubrieta flowers are commonly purple. The genus Aubrieta was named in honor of French botanical artist Claude Aubriet.
Azalea
Azalea (pronounced uh-ZAY-lee-uh) flowers are sometimes purple. The (obsolete) genus name Azalea is derived from the Ancient Greek word azaleos, meaning “dry.” Here’s the popularity graph for Azalea.
Banafsha
Banafsha is a Persian feminine name meaning “violet.”
Betony
Betony flowers are usually purple. “Betony” is the common name of plants in the genus Stachys. Here’s the popularity graph for Betony.
Bíbor
Bíbor (pronounced BEE-bor) is a Hungarian masculine name based on the word bíbor, meaning “purple.”
Bíborka
Bíborka is a feminine form of Bíbor.
Bora
Bora is a Korean feminine name meaning “purple.” (Though the name has appeared in the U.S. data, this probably reflects the usage of the identical Albanian name, which means “snow.”) Here’s the popularity graph for Bora.
Fjóla
Fjóla (pronounced FYOH-lah) is an Icelandic and Faroese feminine name meaning “violet.”
Fjólar
Fjólar is the masculine form of Fjóla.
Giacinta and Giacinto
Giacinta (feminine) and Giacinto (masculine) are the Italian forms of Hyacinth. Here’s the popularity graph for Giacinto.
Gladiola
Gladiola refers to Gladiolus, a genus of plants with flowers that are sometimes purple. The genus name, meaning “little sword” (a diminutive of the Latin word gladius, “sword”) refers to the shape of the leaves. Here’s the popularity graph for Gladiola.
Haze
Haze (besides being a vocabulary word) is part of “Purple Haze” [vid] — the title of the song by Jimi Hendrix. “Purple Haze” was the opening track of the iconic album Are You Experienced (1967). Here’s the popularity graph for Haze.
Heather
Heather flowers are usually purple. “Heather” is the common name of plants in the genus Calluna. Here’s the popularity graph for Heather.
Honesty
Honesty (besides being a vocabulary word) is the common name of the plant species Lunaria annua, which has flowers that are frequently purple. The common name is likely a reference to the translucence of the seed pods. Here’s the popularity graph for Honesty.
Hyacinth
Hyacinth flowers are often purple. The genus Hyacinthus was named for the plant’s association with the myth of Hyacinthus (who was one of the lovers of Apollo in Greek mythology). Here’s the popularity graph for Hyacinth.
Iantha
Iantha is a variant of Ianthe. Here’s the popularity graph for Iantha.
Ianthe
Ianthe, which means “violet flower,” is derived from a combination of the Ancient Greek words ion, meaning “violet,” and anthos, meaning “flower.” Here’s the popularity graph for Ianthe.
Ibolya
Ibolya is a Hungarian form of Viola.
Iola
Iola is a variant of Iole. Here’s the popularity graph for Iola.
Iolanda
Iolanda is the Portuguese and Italian form of Yolanda. Here’s the popularity graph for Iolanda.
Iolanthe
Iolanthe may be a variant of Yolanda influenced by the name Ianthe.
Iole
Iole (pronounced IE-oh-lee) is based on the Ancient Greek word ion, meaning “violet.” In Greek myth, Iole was one of Heracles’ many objects of desire. Here’s the popularity graph for Iole.
Iona
Iona could be considered a variant of Ione, though more often it’s a reference to the Scottish island of Iona. Here’s the popularity graph for Iona.
Ione
Ione (pronounced ie-OH-nee) is also based on the Ancient Greek word ion, meaning “violet.” Here’s the popularity graph for Ione.
Iris
The word iris can refer to several things, including flowering plants of the genus Iris, the name of which comes from the Ancient Greek word for “rainbow.” The showy blooms of these plants come in a variety of colors (as the name suggests), though we often think of irises as being shades of purple. For instance, did you know that all of the irises in Vincent van Gogh’s various paintings were once purple? His irises now appear blue only because the red pigment he used to create the purple has faded over time. Here’s the popularity graph for Iris.
Jacaranda
Jacaranda flowers are purple. The genus name Jacaranda is derived from a Tupi-Guarani word meaning “fragrant.”
Jacinta and Jacinto
Jacinta (feminine) and Jacinto (masculine) are the Spanish and Portuguese forms of Hyacinth. Here are the popularity graphs for Jacinta and Jacinto.
Jolanda
Jolanda (pronounced yoh-LAHN-dah) is the Dutch form of Yolanda. Here’s the popularity graph for Jolanda.
Lavender
Lavender flowers are typically purple. “Lavender” is the common name of plants in the genus Lavandula. The genus name is derived from the Latin word lividus, meaning “bluish,” and/or the Latin word lavare, meaning “to wash” (due to aromatic lavender being used in washing and bathing). Here’s the popularity graph for Lavender.
Liila
Liila is the Finnish form of Lilac.
Lila
Lila is the Swedish form of Lilac, though the name also has other possible meanings (e.g., “play” in Sanskrit, “night” in Arabic). Here’s the popularity graph for Lila.
Lilac
Lilac flowers are frequently purple. “Lilac” is the common name of plants in the genus Syringa. Here’s the popularity graph for Lilac.
Lupine
Lupine flowers are often purple. The genus name Lupinus is derived from the Latin word lupinus, meaning “wolfish” (from lupus, “wolf”). Here’s the popularity graph for Lupine.
Magenta
Magenta is a reddish-purple color. A French chemist first synthesized magenta-colored dye in the late 1850s, and the color was eventually named “Magenta” in honor of the French-Sardinian victory at the Battle of Magenta (1859). Here’s the popularity graph for Magenta.
Malva
Malva flowers are commonly purple. The genus name Malva comes from the Latin word for the plant, malva.
Murasaki
Murasaki is a Japanese feminine name meaning “purple.” Originally it referred to the gromwell plant, the root of which was used to make purple dye.
Orchid
Orchid flowers are sometimes purple. Orchids are all members of the Orchidaceae family of plants. Here’s the popularity graph for Orchid.
Phoenix
Phoenix refers to the mythical bird, but the name of that bird was based on the Ancient Greek word phoinix, meaning “purple” or “crimson.” Here’s the popularity graph for Phoenix.
Plum
Plum fruits are commonly purple. Plum trees are part of the genus Prunus. Here’s the popularity graph for Plum.
Porfiria and Porfirio
Porfiria (feminine) and Porfirio (masculine) are the modern Spanish forms of Porphyrius. Here are the popularity graphs for Porfiria and Porfirio.
Porfiriy
Porfiriy is the modern Russian masculine form of Porphyrius.
Porphyrios
Porphyrios was an Ancient Greek name derived from the word porphyra, meaning “purple dye, purple.”
Porphyrius
Porphyrius is the Latinized form of Porphyrios.
Purple
Purple, which can also be traced back to the ancient Greek word porphyra, is rarely used as a given name…though I did spot a girl named Purple in Los Angeles’ baby name data a few years back.
Rebecca
Rebecca is part of “rebeccapurple” — the name of the shade of purple with the hex value #663399. The color name pays tribute to Rebecca Meyer, the daughter of web design pioneer Eric Meyer. Rebecca, whose favorite color was purple, passed away on her 6th birthday (in mid-2014). The biblical name Rebecca is ultimately derived from the Semitic root r-b-q, meaning “to tie” or “to secure.” Here’s the popularity graph for Rebecca.
Sigalit
Sigalit is a Hebrew feminine name meaning “violet.”
Sumire
Sumire (pronounced soo-mee-reh) is a Japanese name that can mean “violet,” depending upon the kanji being used to write the name. Here’s the popularity graph for Sumire.
Temenuzhka
Temenuzhka is a Bulgarian feminine name meaning “violet.”
Thistle
Thistle flowers are usually purple. “Thistle” is the common name of various prickly plants, most of which are in the Asteraceae family. Here’s the popularity graph for Thistle.
Twila
Twila may be based on the English word “twilight.” During twilight, the sky can turn various shades of purple. Here’s the popularity graph for Twila.
Twyla
Twyla is a variant of Twila. Here’s the popularity graph for Twyla.
Tyrian
Tyrian (pronounced TEE-ree-uhn) is part of “Tyrian purple” — the name of the expensive purple dye used during ancient times that I mentioned earlier. The source of the dye was a type of sea snail found in the Mediterranean, near the city of Tyre (now part of Lebanon). The city name can be traced back to the Hebrew word tsor, meaning “rock,” as the settlement was originally built upon a rocky formation. Here’s the popularity graph for Tyrian.
Verbena
Verbena flowers are sometimes purple. The genus name Verbena is derived from the Latin word verbena, which referred to the leaves, twigs, and branches of specific plants (like laurel, olive, and myrtle) that were used during religious ceremonies. Here’s the popularity graph for Verbena.
Vernonia
Vernonia flowers are typically purple. The genus Vernonia was named in honor of English botanist William Vernon.
Viola
Viola is based on the Latin word viola, meaning “violet.” In fact, the genus Viola includes many (though not all) violet flowers. Here’s the popularity graph for Viola.
Violanda
Violanda is another elaboration of Viola. Here’s the popularity graph for Violanda.
Violet
The word violet refers to any flowering plant of the genus Viola — particularly the fragrant species Viola odorata — or to any similar-looking flowering plant. By extension, it also refers to the bluish-purple color of these flowers. Here’s the popularity graph for Violet.
Violeta
The name Violeta is a form of Violet used in Spanish, Romanian, Serbian, Bulgarian, and other languages. Here’s the popularity graph for Violeta.
Violett
Violett is a variant of Violet. Here’s the popularity graph for Violett.
Violetta
Violetta is an Italian and Hungarian form of Violet. Here’s the popularity graph for Violetta.
Violette
The name Violette is a form of Violet used in French. Here’s the popularity graph for Violette.
Violia
Violia is an elaboration of Viola. Here’s the popularity graph for Violia.
Viorica
Viorica is a Romanian form of Viola.
Wisteria
Wisteria (pronounced wuh-STEE-ree-uh) flowers are frequently light purple. The genus Wisteria was named in honor of American physician and anatomist Caspar Wistar. Here’s the popularity graph for Wisteria.
Yolanda
Yolanda may have been derived from the medieval European feminine name Violante, which was based on the Latin word viola, “violet.” Here’s the popularity graph for Yolanda.
Yolande
Yolande is the French form of Yolanda. Here’s the popularity graph for Yolande.
Yukari
Yukari is a Japanese feminine name that can mean “purple,” depending upon the kanji being used to write the name. Here’s the popularity graph for Yukari.
Yukariko
Yukariko is a Japanese name that can include the element Yukari.
Zi
Zi (third tone) is a Chinese name that can mean “purple,” depending upon the character being used to write the name. Here’s the popularity graph for Zi.
Ziming
Ziming is a Chinese name that can include the element Zi.
Ziyang
Ziyang is another Chinese name that can include the element Zi. Here’s the popularity graph for Ziyang.
Zinnia
Zinnia flowers are sometimes purple. The genus Zinnia was named in honor of German botanist Johann Gottfried Zinn. Here’s the popularity graph for Zinnia.
Can you think of any other names that have a connection to the color purple?
P.S. Want to see more color-related baby names? Here are lists of red, orange, yellow, green, and blue names.
Sources:
- Amethyst – ORAU Museum of Radiation and Radioactivity
- Color Symbolism – Interaction Design Foundation
- Dutfield, Scott and Natalie Wolchover. “The meaning of colors: How 8 colors became symbolic.” Live Science 28 Jan. 2022.
- Everts, Sarah. “Van Gogh’s Fading Colors Inspire Scientific Inquiry.” Chemical & Engineering News 1 Feb. 2016.
- Nordic Names
- Online Etymology Dictionary
- SSA
- Stegic, Ivan. “Eric Meyer: Changing the Way the World Meets the Web.” TEN7 Podcast 23 Jun. 2021.
- Wikipedia
- Wiktionary
- Verbena – Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary
- Yukari – Beyond Sakura and Hiroshi
Images:
- Twilight image adapted from Twilight by Samuel John under CC BY-SA 2.0.
- Aubrieta image adapted from Purple rock cress (public domain) by Elias Ziade.
- Rebeccapurple image by Nancy.
[Latest update: Dec. 2023]
