86 Creative Plant Names

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Botanists live and work by a specific code laid out in the book called the “International Code of Botanical Nomenclature,” which means every plant must come with a first and last name. The rule, created by the 18th century botanist Carl Linnaeus, means everything gets one name that represents its genus (last name) and a second name representing its species (first name).

“Giving something a name is a part of having a relationship,” said Norbert Schwarz, a professor of psychology at USC and a man who’s spent his life studying human judgment and decision making. “People anthropomorphize objects — products like their car or the trees in nature — mostly when they feel lonely or when they have an affiliation motive and want to be close to something. And it turns out that doing that has positive consequences.”

“Those consequences”, Schwarz said, “include humans probably taking much better care of that plant, even if it’s beginning to droop, sag or bloom less often. You don’t get rid of your friends just because they get old and cranky,” he says, “just as you wouldn’t throw away a plant you took the time to name.”

The consequences, as Schwarz alluded, include the potential to cure what Dr. Vivek Murthy, the former U.S. surgeon general, calls the “loneliness epidemic.”

“And if naming a plant fights even a little of that isolation, Schwarz says, then go ahead”.

To add to this idea that a plant fights the feelings of isolation is the pandemic trend in which people raced to Etsy to purchase indoor plants. Pandemic plant parents are filling the voids in their social lives and homes with an influx of flora!

Both my brothers and father have always been involved in the plant industry but with the turn of events during COVID-19, they went to almost all Etsy sales. My brother Devin owns The Fab Flora on Etsy and has over 11,500 sales since the beginning of COVID! My other brother, David owns River Leaf Foliage on Etsy; he has over 7,700 sales. Both my brothers focus on indoor plants. My dad, Tom owns Simply Seasonal Gifts. He sells more exterior starter plants, but he has had over 4,500 sales.

There is more to someone than just a name, but a name can have so much meaning and give something great personality. A name is typically given because the “parent” believes it is most appropriate meaning and suits the appearance or describes the characteristics of the “child”. In this case, the child is the plant and the parent is the plant parent. But all in all, the rules of naming a person still can still apply to your plant names as well.

Some creative plant names are:

1. Timothée Chalamet (ferns, air plants)

2. Cher

3. Rihanna (plants that smell really good)

4. Clover

5. Megan Thee Plant

6. Kitty Purry (This is the name of Katy Perry’s cat and should be used only for pet-safe plants.)

7. Flora

8. Snake Gyllenhaal (snake plant)

9. Blossom

10. Willow

11. Woody

12. Katniss Evergreen

13. Spruce Skywalker

14. Seedy Gonazalez

15. Buttercup

16. Groot

17. Elvis Parsley

18. Aloe Vera Wang

19. Bella Thorn

20. Fernie Sanders

21. Spike Leaf

22. Pepper Potts

23. Flora Croft

24. Count Plantula

25. Christofern

26. Jay ZZ Plant

27. Mr Prickles

28. Sir Stabbington

29. Brittany Spearmint

30. Morgan Treeman

31. Spider-Man

32. Ariana Grande (Ponytail Palm)

33. Joey Fittonia

34. Christofern Robin

35. Pearl

36. Bill (money plant)

37. Washington (small/inexpensive money plant; Chinese Money Plant )

38. Franklin (big/expensive money plant; braided money tree)

39. Cactus Everdeen

40. Holly Parton

Plant Duos

41. & 42. Ebony & Ivory

43. & 44. Bonnie & Clyde

45. & 46. Simon & Garfunkel

47. & 48. Peanut Butter & Jelly

49. & 50. Mr. and Mrs. Plant

51. & 52. Surf & Turf (Fishbone Cactus or Fishbone Prayer Plant & Any other plant)

Groupings

53. – 57. Spice Girls (a group of herbs)

To name something is to love it, right? I love my plants, so here are my names and why I chose them

1. Lilly – Peace Lily – I simply selected Lilly from its name of Peace Lily

2. Abu – Peace Lily – I chose Abu as short for Abuela; Abuela is grandmother in Spanish. This plant is a memorial for my mother-in-law who passed away this year.

3. Vincent Van Grow – Anthurium – I chose Vincent Van Grow in honor of Vincent Van Gogh. Although his paintings were typically in hues of yellows and blues. The yellow of Anthurium is the actual “flower”; The red is only a glorified leaf. So the yellow flower is how I came to relate this to Van Gogh.

4. Your Majesty – Large Marble Queen Pothos – I chose Your Majesty for my largest Marble Queen Pothos because when I think of Queen I think of Your Majesty.

5. Snow Princess – Small Marble Queen Pothos – I chose Snow Princess for my smallest Marble Queen Pothos because when I think of the baby of the Queen I think of princess. When I see the white on the Marble Queen, I think of snow; hence the name “Snow Princess”.

6. Fernadette – Fern – I chose Fernadette just because it seemed appropriate for a fern; a plant version of Bernadette.

7. Charlotte – Spider Plant – I chose Charlotte because of Charlotte’s Web. She was the famous spider from the book, so I thought this name fit perfectly.

8. Wandering Joe – Wandering Jew/Dude – I named this one Wandering Joe because it is typically called wandering jew, which some find offensive. I still wanted to keep the wandering portion and Joe just seemed to fit.

9. Philomena – Philodedron – Philomena is a Greek name that means Loved One. This is one of my most loved plant. So I chose it because of the Philo in the prefix of both names.

10. Orlando Bloom – Oxalis – I chose this name because this little Oxalis produces a ton of little blooms.

11. Marty – Rattlesnake Plant – Marty is the zebra in Madagascar the movie. I chose the name Marty due to the stripes on my rattlesnake plant.

12. Shrek – Prince of Orange Philodendron – I chose this one very carefully…do follow closely. Fiona is a princess and has orange hair…well who is her Prince per se? Shrek!

13. Callie – Calla Lily – I named her Callie simply by pulling from her plant name.

14. Sattin – Satin Pothos – I named her Sattin simply by pulling from her plant name. I used two t’s because I have a friend who named her daughter Sattin with 2 t’s. Sattin is looking very rough, because she got her leaves burned in the move.

15. Kala – Hawaiian Pothos – Hawaiian for Sarah – I named her Kala, which is Hawaiian for Sarah (me). This plant took a beating in the move as well and I trimmed her down to a mere stump, so I named her after me, strong and can come back from anything.

16. Piliki – Philodendron Brasil – Hawaiian for Phyllis – I wanted to name her Phyllis, but looked up Phyllis in Hawaiian and liked Piliki better than Phyllis.

17. Honey – Hoya -I named her Honey because the Hoya plant can also be called a Honey Plants.

18. Queen Anne – Birds Nest Fern – Queen Anne’s lace is another name for Birds Nest; therefore I shortened it to Queen Anne for this Birds Nest Fern.

19. Cheena – Chinese Evergreen – In Spanish, China is pronounced /ch-ee-n-aa/. Anytime I hear China or Chinese I think of this word, so I chose to name my Chinese Evergreen Cheena.

20. Doc – Purple Oxalis – Some corms from the parent plant were taken to make this baby. The owner of the parent plant’s name was Doc. This is why this purple oxalis is named Doc.

21. Big Mama – Monstera Adansonii – This plant was huge when I got it and MA MA for “M”onstera “A”dansonii, hence Big Mama.

22. Grampus – Whale Tail – My Whale Tail got named Grampus, which is another name for Whale. He is also a grumpy old man, so I thought this fit perfectly.

23. Grand Duke – Phildendron Goeldii – This plant’s leaves are shaped like a fleur de lis. The fleur de lis represents French Royalty, so I chose this name to be Grand Duke.

24. Odo – Shingle Plant – I named this plant Odo because Odo was a changeling that disguised as a Klingon from Star Trek. This is a plant that “clings” to the surface it is growing up, so I chose a Klingon name.

25. Kamari – Moonlight Philodendron – The name Kamari means moonlight in Swahili. I liked the name, so this name stuck.

26. Ruby – Rojo Congo Philodendron – I chose Ruby for this Rojo Congo Philodendron since a Ruby is red.

27. Goldilocks – Neon Pothos – I chose Goldilocks because the Neon Pothos is sometimes called Goldilocks and I thought Goldilocks was a cut name for her yellow leaves.

28. Nani – Hawaiian Pothos – Nani is Hawaiian for pretty. This plant is one of my favorite Hawaiian pothos and she is very pretty to me.

29. Iwalani – Hawaiian Pothos – Iwalani is Hawaiian for attractive one. This Hawaiian pothos is defiantly an attractive one!

Giving your plants names is a great way to foster a healthy relationship with your green BFFs. Remember that after all is said and done, plants will only thrive if well nourished. Do your best to raise your plants under ideal conditions, which include adequate watering and exposure to the right amount of sunshine, temperature, and humidity.

If you love these plant markers, please check out my Garden Guru Etsy shop. I have more of these on order and will have them listed in my shop soon!! Be sure to favorite my shop for newly listed plant accessories.

XOXO

-S