Heather

Heather: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “heather plant”
Origin: English
Say it: HETH-er · 2 syllables
Used for: Girls

From the English word for the evergreen flowering shrub. It is a nature name taken directly from the plant.

English names Names meaning nature Names meaning flower Modern names Nature names

How popular is Heather?

202450.0 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Heather in 2024168

2024 rank#1,356 girls

Peak year1975

Total US babies since 1880527,210

Heather is fading: recent use is about 52% of its level ten years before.

Names like Heather

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Oliviaolive tree · English
Evelyndesired; little bird · English
Harperharp player · English
Violetviolet flower · English
Hazelhazel tree · English
Ellieshort form of names ending in -el or -ella · English
Lilylily flower · English
Scarlettscarlet, bright red · English

Heather questions

What does the name Heather mean?

Heather means "heather plant". It comes from English. From the English word for the evergreen flowering shrub. It is a nature name taken directly from the plant.

Is Heather a boy or girl name?

Heather is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Heather?

168 US babies were named Heather in 2024. Its peak year was 1975.

How do you pronounce Heather?

Heather is usually pronounced HETH-er.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.