Asphodel as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Asphodel

What is the meaning of the name Asphodel ?

The baby name Asphodel is a Female name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced IPA: /ˈæsfəˌdɛl/ — respelling: AS-fuh-del.

Asphodel is Greek in Origin.

Asphodel derives from Ancient Greek asphodelos, via Latin asphodelus and French asphodele, naming a lily-like wildflower of the Mediterranean. In Greek myth the Asphodel Meadows formed the afterlife’s quiet fields, so the flower came to signify remembrance, modesty, and enduring peace; Victorian floriography echoed those themes. Meaning: asphodel flower, with poetic overtones of memory and the beyond.

As a given name in English, Asphodel surfaces rarely, favored by 19th-century admirers of botanical and romantic names and later by literary-minded parents (cf. William Carlos Williams’s Asphodel, That Greeny Flower). Cognates and related forms include French Asphodele, Spanish/Portuguese Asfodelo, and Italian Asfodelo; English Daffodil is a historical alteration of the same root. Nicknames may include Della, Del, and Effie. With its mythic lilt and nature imagery, Asphodel suits those seeking an uncommon, gently somber yet luminous choice.

⚙ Asphodel is an extremely rare name. Across our dataset of national birth registries and international name records, Asphodel appears only 4 times in total — found in 4 countries. If you're considering it, you'd be giving your child a name almost nobody else has.