The names of all flowers mean something special. Names of flowers usually don’t happen by accident—though there might be a funny story behind some different types of flowers—but different kinds of flowers mean different things. Here are meanings behind of some of those names of flowers.

Violets
Primarily of genus Viola (though the African violet is not, and is so named only because of superficial resemblance), violets actually supply the name for the color instead of the other way around. Violet flowers also come in yellow, white, cream, and blue, but obviously violet violets gave the color its name. As with many names of flowers, Violet became socially acceptable as a girl’s name. This and other names of flowers peaked in popularity at the turn of the 20th century before dropping. Violet, however, is climbing again. Viola, like other scientific names, is Latin in origin.

The names of all flowers mean something special. Names of flowers usually don’t happen by accident—though there might be a funny story behind some different types of flowers—but different kinds of flowers mean different things. Here are meanings behind of some of those names of flowers.

Roses

This perennial comes in over 100 species of flowers. The symbol of the rose has impressed the hearts of humanity for millennia. The Latin word rosa gives the basis for the current name; however, this name passed through Oscan, colonial Greek, Aeolic, Aramaic, Assyrian, and Old Iranian before becoming rosa. Chronologically, the word began as war, then ward, warda, vard, wurtinnu, wurrda, wrodon, rhodon, and, finally, rosa. When Juliet asks, “What’s in a name?”, she’s right in one sense: “rose” has always signified only the flower and nothing else. However, the name “rose” has taken some work to reach our day.