Rosemary

Rosemary grows in the herb garden of English names—a compound of rose and Mary, but also the Latin ros marinus, "dew of the sea," for the blue-flowered shrub that flourishes on Mediterranean cliffs. Shakespeare's Ophelia calls it "for remembrance," and it has carried that meaning through weddings and funerals ever since. The name peaked in America in the 1940s and drifted quietly for decades before a gentle vintage revival took it back into the Top 1000 and now near 301. Four graceful syllables with built-in nicknames Rose or Romy. Fragrant, literary, a little English cottage-window; Rosemary is having a well-deserved second bloom.