The baby name Yarrow checks plenty of boxes for a stylish baby name now – but is virtually unknown.
Thanks to Emilee for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
WHAT DOES THE NAME YARROW MEAN?
Yarrow is a plant, sometimes called milfoil.
The name started out as gearwe in Old English. It might have something to do with the color yellow, which would have been geolwe.
Or not. Competing theories make this name Greek.
But yarrow – also known as achillea millefolium – is usually yellow, or sometimes white, or white and yellow.
While it’s quite pretty, it’s often considered a weed.
It does have practical uses, including the healing properties and the ability to stanch bleeding. (An alternate name is “nosebleed plant.” Not pretty, but descriptive.) It’s scientific name comes from myth and folklore. It’s said the hero Achilles used the plant to cure his warriors on the battlefield.
In the Victorian language of flowers, yarrow was a cure for heartache.
It can also be made into tea.
With bold, showy botanical names like Lotus and Azalea under consideration by some families, Yarrow has a gentler appeal, more wildflower than hot house.
YARROW ON THE MAP
There’s a second reason this one qualifies as a nature name. In Scotland, the Yarrow Water is known for excellent salmon fishing.
The name might come from a Celtic word meaning rough, describing the river’s waters.
There’s a second river by the name in Lancashire.
YARROW AS A LAST NAME
If your family lived by one of the rivers, or possibly a place where the plant grew abundantly, your surname might’ve become Yarrow.
Way back in 1865, Alfred Yarrow established a shipbuilding firm in Glasgow. His company went on to design and build many a ship for the Royal Navy. He also designed an innovative boiler. For his services to the nation, he was eventually created a baronet.
In more recent history, there’s singer-songwriter Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary fame. (If you’ve ever heard “Puff the Magic Dragon,” you’ve heard their most famous work.) Peter’s family was Ukrainian, originally named Yaroshevitz. He passed away in early 2025.
A handful of other notables have answered to the surname.
But how about Yarrow as a given name?
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME YARROW?
There should be some kids called Yarrow.
Surname names commonly migrate to the first spot, and our love of nature names has been going strong for decades.
There are a few, but maybe not as many as you would expect:
- In 1972, when Peter, Paul and Mary were at the height of their fame, five girls were given the name Yarrow. That marks Yarrow’s debut in the Social Security Administration data.
- A year later, six boys received the name in 1973.
It’s a gender-neutral name, used in small numbers for boys and girls alike over the last fifty years and counting.
In 2023, eight boys and fewer than five girls received the first name Yarrow.
Not only is Yarrow quite rare, but a letter Y name is seldom heard.
- Familiar(ish) girl names include Yasmin and Yasmina, Ynes, Yara, Yvette and Yvonne, Yolanda, Yelena, Yaretzi, and Yareli, along with spellings like Ysabel.
- For boys, Yves, Yadiel, Yale and Yael, Yehuda, and spellings of Joseph – Yusuf, Yosef, and Yousef – are likely the best known.
- More gender-neutral choices, like Yarden and Yardley, are sometimes heard.
UNDISCOVERED NATURE NAME OPTION
Today, Yarrow picks up on several key trends:
- We’re wild about ‘o’ ending names, from classics like Margot to imports like Mateo.
- Surname names are a huge category, for boys and girls alike.
- The same is true of nature-inspired names, from Kai to Olive to Brooks.
- Scrabble letters with high values, like X and Z, appeal. Why not Y, too?
Despite all of these attributes, Yarrow remains undiscovered. It’s a subsitute for Willow or Arlo, a stylish choice that fits in and stands out at the same time.
What do you think of the baby name Yarrow?
First published on September 23, 2015, this post was revised on January 13, 2025.
If you look up how to pronounce it, they say it is more like “Euro”….which is totally rad too. I like all ways and for a boy or girl!
We named our daughter Yarrow Elizabeth because I am a gardener and love plant names. She is 21 now and has grown to appreciate her name and likes when people know that she is named after a flower.
In an age where everyone has to stand out, this takes the cake. Lol
I hear this one as a boy’s name. I like it a lot.
“Rhymes with tomorrow. ” Or, “You know, like the plant,” are the two things I can imagine being said a lot. But if you read it, you know what it is.
It FEELS masculine to me. Maybe it’s the ‘yar’.
I like this name. It’s as nature-ish as ‘Birch’ but without the possibility of accidentally swearing. It sounds easy-going, too.
Nice post, Abby!
I like this! Is it pronounced YA-row or Yah-row or something else?
YAR-oh is how I say it. I really like this for a boy 🙂
for what it’s worth, the flower is pronounced to rhyme with the word “marrow” (sorry not a great image but I couldn’t think of another rhyme)!
Like bone marrow you mean? Hmm, I’ve never heard the plant said like that before. Now I’m not sure!