Camellia means the camellia flower — named after Georg Kamel, the Jesuit botanist. The Lady of the Camellias (Dumas) inspired Verdi's La Traviata — one of opera's greatest. Chanel chose the camellia as her personal symbol — Coco's favourite flower. In Japan, the camellia (tsubaki) symbolises the ideal love. Four syllables of Dumas-opera, Chanel-elegance, and the flower three cultures made sacred.
Camellia is named after botanist Georg Kamel. Dumas' Lady of the Camellias inspired La Traviata. Chanel chose it as her symbol. In Japan, it symbolises ideal love.
2
First recorded
Earliest known use: Named after Georg Kamel (1661–1706); Dumas (1848).
3
Today
Camellia remains a beloved choice, ranking #1970 in the US. 3,224 babies have been named Camellia since 1921.
◈ Sources: Behind the Name, SSA data
◆
How popular is Camellia?
2024peak year
Camellia is on the rise. After years out of the spotlight, it has been gaining ground with U.S. parents in the most recent decade. It currently ranks well outside the top 1,000 (around #1970), with about 103 babies named Camellia each year. In 2024, 138 babies received the name (ranked #1539). Total registrations across all years since 1880: roughly 3,224.
Year-by-year registrations1880–2024 · U.S. Social Security data
Camellia's Life Path 6 is the nurturer's number — ideal-love nurturing. People named Camellia tend to be elegant, sacred, and gifted at being Chanel's favourite flower across three cultures.
Every name has a homeland. Discover beautiful girl names rooted in cultures from around the world — each with full meanings, origin stories and pronunciation.