Flora
A surname that may come from the flower name, but in many cases it was also simply a given name turned into a family name.
The #4,523 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 39,396 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is most naturally connected with Latin Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers and spring, and by extension with the word for a flower. In English-speaking records, however, Flora is often encountered as a personal name first, so the surname may sometimes arise from a woman’s given name rather than from a fixed hereditary surname of one clear origin. Because of that overlap, the surname can be explained in more than one way depending on the family line.
History
The historical excerpts mainly show Flora as a personal name in British and American records, which supports the idea that some families adopted it as a surname from an ancestor’s forename. The name also appears in general discussions of classical or literary names in 19th-century surname books, reflecting its familiarity as a graceful, feminine name. In modern usage, Flora remains uncommon as a surname and is more widely recognized as a given name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century writers liked to joke about surnames based on classical gods and goddesses, and one source even quips that “the goddess Flora keeps house in Boston.”
From the historical record
“from the complexion ; v. Blunt. Flora U Blande, C R., 3 Edw. I. Blundell, Blondal, BlondalL —Nick, 'Blonder or ' Blundel,' the blonde, a sobriquet of com- pleiion, ' yellow-haired.' Fr.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances