Iris is the Greek word for "rainbow" and the name of the goddess who carried messages from the gods to mortals along the rainbow's arc. The flower was named after her for its many colors, so the name counts as both a myth name and a flower name. Iris ranked number 414 in the United States in 2000, rose from number 216 in 2015 into the top 100 in 2022 and reached number 61 among girls in 2025, its best rank in this century.