From my favourite to least favourite at this moment in time:
Lily — I adore this name. A favourite. So elegant and sweet, fits all ages. I like
Lillian and
Liliana but not as much as
Lily.
Violet — I love this too, so beautiful and soft sounding. Not
Violetta though — too frilly.
Rose — Also love this, short and sweet and you can almost smell the fragrance of rose petals in it. I like versions such as
Rosa,
Rosalind,
Rosalie, etc.
Jasmine —
Love the elegance, another one where you can almost smell the fragrance of the flower, plus the nickname Jazz or Jazzy is an added bonus.
Daisy — I also love this, I don't think it sounds childish at all. I can see the ditzy connotations but positive personal association overrides it for me. It sounds elegant, clever, and quick-witted.
Clover — Pretty. Four leaf clover is a symbol of good luck. I also love
Chloe (green shoot) and
Clover sounds similar and is less common.
Iris — Also pretty. I don't mind the fact that it's a part of the eye — at least it's the most beautiful part — and I think of the flower more often. It's pleasing to say.
Indigo — Lovely for boys or girls, I love the nickname
Indie or
Indy so much. The colour is gorgeous too.
Ianthe — Greek names are usually thumbs up in my book. Flows nicely, beautiful, lovely meaning of course.
Iolanthe — Same as
Ianthe, although I slightly prefer
Ianthe because this has so many syllables to pronounce!
Lavender — A good name. Reminds me of the Lavenders in
Harry Potter and
Matilda respectively. Flows nicely.
Azalea — Lovely and intriguing. Sounds very sparky. I love names with a 'z' or 'x' in them.
Lilac — A bit like
Lila with an extra 'c' on the end, despite the flower. I love
Lila though, so no bad thing necessarily, although the 'c' makes it roll off the tongue less easily.
Marigold — A very gold name for obvious reasons. Reminds me of the flower almost immediately. I quite like it. And the bearer can always go by
Mary or similar if she finds it too extravagant.
Dahlia — Sometimes sounds dated to me (not sure if that's a thing or if it's just me) but sometimes it's fun and cute. I came up with the nickname
Dada (is it real?) and I love it.
Amaryllis — I keep forgetting how to pronounce this, but I like it.
Unique, pretty, and lots of potential for nicknames.
Hyacinth — Borderline too frilly but manages to be okay. Out loud sounds a bit like you're greeting someone called
Cynthia — "Hiya, Cynth!"
Orchid — This is nice, but I prefer it as a middle name. Suddenly the combination Orchid
Jane popped into my head though, and that sounds lovely.
Winika —
Odd little name but quite pleasing. I've never heard it before.
Winnie would make a cute nickname.
Jonquil — Never heard this before either. Interesting but sounds a bit awkward (unless I'm pronouncing it wrong, I'm saying JON-kwal with a hard J).
Petunia — This just reminds me of
Petunia from
Harry Potter if I'm honest, and she wasn't particularly pleasant. The name itself is a little odd but not too bad. There are no good nicknames really. Better on a pet (cat or dog?).
Wisteria — Very frilly and dreamy, perhaps ditzy at times. Again, if there was a good nickname, I'd rank it higher but I can't think of one.
Lotus — Fine, I guess. I like the flower but the name seems a bit bland.
Blossom — Fine on an animal (maybe a cow?), seems a bit weird on a human. A name meaning blossom would be much better.
Chrysanthemum — Rather extravagant and I don't like the "mum" on the end. If I had this name I'd probably go by Chrys or Chryssie.
Delphinium — This sounds a bit ridiculous to me, too much like the Latin classification of a plant. I prefer
Delphine or
Delfina.
I also like
Poppy,
Posy, and
Rosie on young girls — they don't work as well for adults.
I love
Aster because it sounds so much like
Astrid, a favourite of mine.
Calanthe is beautiful and I like the nickname
Callie, which sounds sunny.
There are probably others but I can't remember what I've forgotten so I'll finish there.
*
LISTEN TO THE MUSTN'TS
-
Shel Silverstein
Listen to the MUSTN'TS, child,
Listen to the DON'TS
Listen to the SHOULDN'TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON'TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me—
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.