Florence comes from the Latin Florentia and means "flourishing" or "blossoming"; it is also the English name of the Italian city of Firenze. Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, was named after that city, and singer Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine keeps it current. A top 10 name a century ago, Florence faded out of the US top 1000 for decades, returned in 2017 and has climbed to number 391 in 2025.