Florence
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Meaning
flourishing
Goes by Flo, Florrie, Flossie. See all nicknames
Famously borne by sprint legend Florence Griffith Joyner.
The story
Florence comes from the Latin florentia, flourishing, and it is also the English name of the Italian city on the Arno. The two meet in one person: Florence Nightingale, named for the city where she was born in 1820, whose fame as the founder of modern nursing sent the name around the English-speaking world. America inherited that Victorian devotion, and Florence entered the 1890s as one of the most popular girls' names in the country. The twentieth century wore it down slowly, decade by decade, until by midcentury it had gone quiet. Then the revival: since the 2000s the line has been climbing again, part of the broader return of gilded grandmother names like Cora and Hazel, helped along, it is tempting to think, by the singer Florence Welch. Flourishing again, in other words, exactly as advertised.
How popular is Florence around the world?
In the United States, 3,343 babies were named Florence between 2020 and 2025. In England and Wales, 1,924 girls named Florence were born in 2025, the 5th most common name among girls that year.
Florence is on the official records of the United States, England and Wales, New Zealand, Canada, Scotland, South Australia, New South Wales, Ireland, Austria, France, Poland, Mexico City, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 6,500
In the United States, 3,343 babies were named Florence between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Florence peaked in the 1890s and the 1900s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
England and Wales
1 in 300
In England and Wales, 1,924 girls named Florence were born in 2025, the 5th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
New Zealand
1 in 590
In New Zealand, 97 girls named Florence were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Canada
1 in 640
In Canada, 569 girls named Florence were born in 2024, the 28th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Scotland
1 in 950
In Scotland, 48 girls named Florence were registered in 2024, the 90th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
1 in 1,1002017
In South Australia, 16 girls were registered as Florence in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
New South Wales
#25 · 2025
In New South Wales, 185 girls named Florence were registered in 2025, ranked 25th in that year’s top 100 for girls.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Ireland
1 in 2,500
In Ireland, 22 girls named Florence were born in 2025, the 196th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Austria
1 in 25,000
In Austria, 3 girls named Florence were born in 2025, ranked 1,026th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
France
1 in 43,000
In France, about 15 girls named Florence were born in 2025, ranked 1,895th among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Poland
1 in 62,000
In Poland, 4 girls named Florence were born in 2025, the 498th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Mexico City City
1 in 120,000
In Mexico City, there was 1 registration of Florence in 2022.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Spain
1 in 130,000
In Spain, 344 residents are named Florence, ranked 2,975th among women, with a mean age of 47.4 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
1 in 330,000
At the 2022 census, 536 people in Brazil were named Florence, ranked 12,742nd, with a median age of 33.
Among people named Florence living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 35 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Montevideo City
last on record 2003
Florence is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Not on the record in Argentina and Puerto Rico: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Florence
People given the name Florence in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1940 to 1979. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Florence · Nicknames for Florence · Chinese American baby names · Names of sports stars
The Florence deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Florence truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Florence fits with your family’s names and surname.
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