Meaning and Origin
What does the name Myrtle mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
Origin and Meaning of Myrtle
User Submitted Origins
English
46%
Hebrew
21%
Greek
14%
Scandinavian
7%
African
4%
Latin
4%
African American
4%
User Submitted Meanings
- According to a user from Jamaica, the name Myrtle means "Plant".
International Interest
Also see international interest
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
noun Myr"tle
A species of the genus Myrtus, especially Myrtus communis. The common myrtle has a shrubby, upright stem, eight or ten feet high. Its branches form a close, full head, thickly covered with ovate or lanceolate evergreen leaves. It has solitary axillary white or rosy flowers, followed by black several-seeded berries. The ancients considered it sacred to Venus. The flowers, leaves, and berries are used variously in perfumery and as a condiment, and the beautifully mottled wood is used in turning.
Note: ☞ The name is also popularly but wrongly applied in America to two creeping plants, the blue-flowered periwinkle and the yellow-flowered moneywort. In the West Indies several myrtaceous shrubs are called myrtle.
Etymology: F. myrtil bilberry, prop., a little myrtle, from myrte myrtle, L. myrtus murtus, Gr. my`rtos; cf. Per. mūrd
Other Dictionary Sources
- Widely cultivated as a groundcover for its dark green shiny leaves and usually blue-violet flowers
- Any evergreen shrub or tree of the genus Myrtus
Wiktionary
From Old French myrte, from Latin myrtus.
- An evergreen shrub or small tree of the genus Myrtus, native to southern Europe and north Africa.