Peonies for Suze - The Queen of Flowers and Names

Hey Sarah and Laura, First of all I would like to thank you for giving me a little something to read every once in a while I thoroughly enjoy reading your posts. Second of all I have a little question regarding the name of my soon to be bubby. I adore peonies! They are my favourite flowers and I would love to incorporate this into the name of my child somehow. However, I am not an advocate of 'made up' names and I would hate for Peony to be categorised with names such as Apple. I would be really appreciative if you could suggest names that have some correlation to my favourite flowers! Thanks, Suze

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Suze, as per usual congrats on your pregnancy and we are glad be of help in your process prior to choosing a name for your baby. As you haven't specified the sex of your baby I will suggest names for both genders which should be a whole lot fun :D! I think this will be our best project yet!

Botan-This boys name means Peony and originated in Japan. I suspect that, due to its similarity to some of today's more popular names, you might start a trend with this one.

Carl-I have taken this name from the most famous lover of Peonies Carl Weinberg. Weinberg's Peony Garden on Ann Arbor's west side was one of the city's notable beauty spots from 1920 until 1952.

Bobby-Bobby Faust was Weinberg's own nephew who was loved so dearly that the botanist named one of his created Peonies after him. This particular peony is white in colour.

Jefferson-The name of one the the streets that bound Weinberg's Peony Garden.

Pierre- Artist Pierre Auguste Renoir was famous for painting the stunning flowers.

Henri- Associated with the artist Fantin-Latour who is also famous for his paintings of Peonies.

Joseph- Sir Joseph Banks was responsible for importing the Peony into Europe.

Flora- Paeonia lactiflora is the name of the species of peony that are most common.

Summer-The flowering season of the Peony and such a cute name! I can just see a little girl called Summer in a pretty little dress picking flowers and skipping merrily. Remind me to stick this on the list if I ever have a little girl.

Peony- I know you said that you didn't feel that this name has merit as a name but I beg to differ. Peony is a Greek name that means flower. But if you still feel that this name sounds a bit "made up" then why not use it as a middle name.

Alice-Alice Harding wrote The Book of the Peony in 1917 and its smaller companion volume, Peonies in the Little Garden, in 1923. She is also responsible for the creation of many peony hybrids. Weinberg was known to have bought a Ms. Harding Peony for $250, a highly inflated amount in those days!

Eleanora - A double white peony which was named after Weinberg's wife, Eleanora, by Weinberg himself.

Philantha- A name which means lover of flowers in Greek. It also sounds similar to Philomèle which a major variety of Peony.

Penny-Okay this name isn't directly related to Peonies but it does sound the same. Maybe you could use Penny as a nickname for Peony or Penelope.

Ann - A classic timeless name. It also happens to be part of the name in the district in which Weinberg grew his Peony Garden, Ann Arbor. Spell it this way or with an 'E' if you happen to agree with Anne Shirley and feel that the extra 'E' adds femininity.

I also would like to thank you for asking such an interesting question. It was a challenge at first but when I got started I just couldn't stop! Any of these appeal to you? (please say no - I would love get even more carried away than I already have :) )

Sarah.

PS. I too adore peonies! ( I had them in my wedding bouquet ) They were used for medicinal purposes in the early days of medicine and components of the flower make up some modern medicines. They are also said to ward off bad spirits in China- maybe if you use one of my suggested names it might do so for your child.