Origin and meaning
The name Heather actually refers to a variety of small shrubs with pink or white flowers which commonly grow in rocky areas that is literally referred to as Heather, in English. The brush is native to Scotland and England, but it is more commonly found in Scotland due to its rocky territories. The name is derived from Middle English hather.
Heather has several other definitions. The most commonly known is as a reference to a color mixture, it is most often a pale shade of blue from blue itself to pink to even purple mixed with gray. However, many times it refers to any color that includes gray or gray streaks within it, such as what is known as Heather fabric.
The masculine form of the name is Heath.
Popularity and variations
Newspapers.com records the use of "Miss Heather" in reference to a girl's name as early as 2 August 1852, in The New York Times. An infant by the name of Miss Heather Campbell arrived on a ship from Glasgow in New York, with her mother.
The American Social Security Administration's records show it to already be in use in 1935, though it was rare at the time coming in at #997, barely making the top 100 names of that era. The name is currently popular among the people of Generations X and Generation Y. The name itself peaked in popularity at #3, in 1975.
Heather, though a name found primarily in English speaking countries, has other variants simply because of its definition as a flowering plant. However its foreign names often closely resemble other words with meanings so is difficult to know if those names originated from the flower, or another word. For example, the name Heidi in German resembles Heidekraut, which is the German word for the Heather shrubs, though the name Heidi usually is attributed to "ruler".
Erica actually has two meanings, one of which is related to the Heather plant whose Latin name is Ericaceae. Its other meaning is equal to that of the German meaning of Heidi, meaning "ruler". This leaves the impression that the shrub name and the meaning of "ruler" are similar, or it is a large coincidence.
Heather Angel, English actressHeather Angel, English photographerHeather B. Gardner, American hip-hop artistHeather Bown, American volleyball playerHeather Burge (born 1971), American basketball playerHeather Crowe, Canadian anti-smoking campaignerHeather Dewey-Hagborg (born 1982), information artist and bio-hackerHeather Engebretson, American lyric sopranoHeather Foster (born 1966), Jamaican-born American professional bodybuilderHeather Graham, American actressHeather Headley, Trinidadian singer and actressHeather Hemmens, American actressHeather Hunter, American entertainerHeather Jones, Canadian field hockey playerHeather Kuzmich, American fashion model and America's Next Top Model, Cycle 9 participantHeather Langenkamp (born 1964), American actressHeather Locklear (born 1961), American actressHeather Marks, Canadian modelHeather Matarazzo, American actressHeather Mills (born 1968), British model and activist; the second wife of Paul McCartneyHeather Morris, American actress and dancer from GleeHeather Moyse (born 1978), Canadian bobsledder and rugby union playerHeather North, American voice actressHeather Nova, Bermudian singer-songwriter and poetHeather O'Reilly (born 1985), American soccer playerHeather O'Rourke (1975–1988), American actressHeather Raffo, American actressHeather Small, British singerHeather Terhune, a "cheftestant" on Top Chef: Texas (Top Chef season 9)Heather Thomas, American actressHeather Thomson, cast member of The Real Housewives of New York City, season 5Heather Tom, American Actress, who appears mostly on soap operasHeather Wallace, Canadian squash playerHeather Whitestone, Miss America winnerHeather West, American chefLady Heather (real name Heather Kessler), a recurring character in CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationHeather, a character, and one of the four season winners, from Total DramaHeather, a character, sister of "Dagur the Deranged", chief of the Beserker tribe, worked with ex-boss' Ryker and Viggo Grimmborn, Dragon Rider, From "Dreamworks Dragons Race To The Edge".Heather Badcock, a victim in Agatha Christie's 1962 novel, The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side.Heather Campbell, the first love of Connor MacLeod, the main protagonist of the Highlander film franchise (not to be confused with Duncan MacLeod of the television series spinoff)Heather Chandler, Heather Duke, and Heather McNamara, the eponymous clique from the film HeathersHeather Dante, daughter of Tony Soprano's consigliere, Silvio Dante, on The SopranosHeather Hart, a character in the novel Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said by Philip K. DickHeather Mason, the female protagonist in Silent Hill 3Heather Farrell, a former character from the original Degrassi series.Heather Sinclair, an unseen character in Degrassi: The Next GenerationHeather Stevens Williams, a character on the American soap opera The Young and the RestlessHeather the Violet Fairy, from the children's book series Rainbow Magic
