Lavender

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green...

"I've never been in style, so I can never go out of style." –Lillian Gish

The Lady Lavender: she's tender, gentle yet moody, sensitive, eccentric, jolie laide... and has much in common with the infinitely more popular Violet. Besides being shades of purple and flowering plants with purplish blossoms, they're also both Roald Dahl characters – and, I might add, Lavender Brown of Matilda was worlds more likable than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's Violet Beauregard. Why isn't Lavender more popular?

Lasairfhíona

'[This name] was one that would stand out all over the world.'

Happily, I came across this ancient Irish name yesterday (13th October 2010) on Name Nerds. Pronounced 'la sar EE na,' it means 'flame of wine' in Gaelic and was borne by a medieval princess of Connacht (western Ireland). It's still in use today in parts of Connacht; Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola is a sean-nós singer from Inis Oírr, Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland (in the Gaeltacht, that is). In an interview she said, '[My father] gave me this name, meaning "flame wine," because it was one that would stand out all over the world.' Here is her hauntingly beautiful song 'Oileán Na Teiscinne' (2007)...