Names That Mean Butterfly – 37 Ideas For Girls and Boys

Butterflies are beautiful insects and are epitomes of spontaneity, freedom, and of course, metamorphosis. Names that means butterfly can signify any of those aspects as it relates to a person or animal’s identity.

In this nerdy name guide, I will discuss both popular and obscure names that mean butterfly or are related to butterflies from several languages and cultures. Once you’ve finished reading, you’ll have the perfect ideas for children, middle names, pets, book characters, and more- you name it! (pun intended!)

Boy Names That Mean Butterfly

Aglais

Aglais is the name of a genus of butterflies known as tortoiseshells. Not just that, it is also a sweet, upbeat name for a boy.

Argus

Argus is a species of butterfly with perfectly-shaped and splendidly colored wings. It is commonly known as Brown Argus. If we talk about the Greek roots of this name, Argus is derived from the word argos, which means ‘glistening, shining’.

Chrysalis

When a butterfly is young- between the larval and adult stages, it forms a chrysalis. This unisex name implies a fantastic metaphor that a child is going to grow up to be as splendid as a butterfly.

Clodius

The Parnassius Clodius is a graceful butterfly that is found in North America and inspires a unique name for little boys. The name Clodius also reminds me of the slightly more common name, Claudius.

Danaus

Danaus is a masculine name inspired by the genus of regal-looking butterflies by the same name. In Greek mythology, Danaus was the brother of legendary king Aegyptus.

Ekval

In Hindi, the word Ekval means ‘a beautiful and free butterfly’.

Faranak

This name is a male version of the female Persian name Parvaneh, which means ‘butterfly’.

Flutur

The name Flutur comes from Albanian, and means ‘butterflies’. It definitely reminds me of the word “flutter.”

Fluturim

A derivative of the name Flutur, Fluturim refers to ‘a flight, flying’.

Related post: Names that mean Home

Hector

The masculine name Hector is taken from the grand crimson and black Pachliopta Hector butterfly. In Greek legend, Hector was also a Trojan hero warrior who fought against the Greeks. All in all, a truly nerdy name in a nerdy name guide.

Lysander

Lysander is a male name name with a Greek ring to it, which means ‘the released man’ in Greek. To add to that, it is also the name of a species of butterfly called the Lysander cattleheart.

Nir

In Hindi, an Indian language, Nir means ‘nectar, elixir’ as in the nectar that all the butterflies flutter around for.

Papillon

This masculine is taken from the French word for ‘butterfly’. A scientific family of butterflies, Papilionidae, has been named after this word.

Sommerflue

Sommerflue is a Danish name meaning ‘butterfly’.

Related post: Names That Mean Wind

Girl Names That Mean Butterfly

Aponi

This melodic name comes from the Blackfoot language of the Niitsitapi people of Canada. It is derived from the Blackfoot word apaniiwa which means butterfly. You may also see this name as Apani.

Atalanta

Vanessa Atalanta, also known as The Red Admiral, is a colossal butterfly species with black and red wings. The butterfly is majestic to look at, and so is its name, which inspires this moniker.

Bindi

In the indigenous language Nyungar of Western Australia, the name Bindi means ‘butterfly’.

Birabiro

In one of the Semitic Afroasiatic languages Amharic, Birabiro is a feminine name meaning ‘butterfly’.

Caria

Caria is a family of butterflies residing in the American continents that are known for large and colorful wings. The name also has roots in Ancient Greece, with it being the name of a province near the Aegis sea.

Cho

This simple name from Japan means ‘butterfly’.

Chōko

The Japanese name Choko is derived from the name Cho, with the addition of the suffix ‘-ko’ which means ‘child’. Thus, it means ‘a child like a butterfly’.

Clytia

This name is inspired by the swallowtail butterfly species Papilio Clytia, often known as the common mime. The actual meaning of the name means ‘famous, noble’, which goes hand-in-hand with the nature of these majestic butterflies.

Cynthia

The name Cynthia is procured from the Painted Ladies, a group of brilliantly colored butterflies. This name was also the sobriquet of the Greek goddess Artemis.

Euthalia

Euthalia is a magnificent Greek name comprising two words, eu (good, beautiful) and thalia (flower, blossom), means ‘a beautiful flower’. Euthalia is also the name of a genus of butterflies, commonly known as Barons.

Related post: Names that mean Sunflower

Farasha

This Arabic name has a singular meaning – butterfly.

Ītzpā

Ītzpā is a diminutive of the ancient Aztec name Ītzpāpālotl, where itzli means ‘obsidian’ and pāpālotl means butterfly, thus pointing at a ‘clawed butterfly’ or ‘an obsidian butterfly’.

Josephina

The Ganyra Josephina, apart from being a subtle and impressive butterfly, also serves as the inspiration behind this name. It is also the feminine variant of the masculine name Joseph, and means ‘god’s might will increase’.

Related post: Names that mean Mother

Kelebek

A unique feminine name from Turkey. Meaning: butterfly

Kimana

In the dialect of the Native American Shoshone tribe, Kimana means ‘butterfly’.

Kimimela

A melodic name that comes from the Native American Sioux language of the Lakota and the Dakota people of America. It means ‘little butterfly’.

Related post: Find more crisp, refreshing name ideas in names that mean forest!

Luna

The name Luna is also the Latin term for the moon, and also the name of an eye-catching moth known as the Actias Luna. It’s also a trendy baby name at the moment.

Related post: Names that mean Fox

Mariposa

Everything sounds better in Spanish, and this name meaning ‘butterfly’ is no exception.

Parvaneh

In Ancient Persian, this feminine name means ‘butterfly’.

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Vanessa

This name has a very interesting backstory. Famous author Jonathan Swift of Gulliver’s Travels fame coined the name Vanessa for his poem Cadenus and Vanessa. A whole genus of butterflies was named Vanessa subsequently, which has exponentially popularized the name in the 21st century.

Vlinder

Vlinder, pronounced flin-der, is a feminine name of Dutch origin. Meaning: butterfly.

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More Names That Mean Butterfly

There are thousands of species of butterflies around the world. And their ethereal, light, magical, and colorful names inspire many unique ideas.

Related post: Ethereal names

Types of Butterflies

Adonis
Argus
Birdwing
Brimstone
Checkerspot
Comma
Crystal
Elfin
Emperor
Fritillary
Gossamer- winged
Greta Morgane
Hairstreak
Harvester
Heath
Madrone
Marbled
Meadow
Minerva owl butterfly
Monarch
Painted Lady
Peacock
Pearl crescent
Queen
Regal
Ringlet
Shasta
Silverspot
Sunbeam
Thessia
Tortoiseshell
Viceroy

Related post: Names that mean Spring

Scientific Butterfly Groupings

Hedylidae – family of American moth butterflies
Hesperiidae – family of skippers, small butterflies known for their darting flights
Hesperioidea – former name for the scientific order that butterflies belong to
Lepidoptera – the scientific order butterflies are in
Lycaenidae – small, brightly colored butterfly family
Nymphalidae – the butterflies in this family have short front legs, so people often think they only have 4 legs!
Papilionoidea – a scientific family of butterflies also known as Swallowtails
Pieridae – the white butterflies in this family are often considered to be pests
Rhopalocera – the scientific clade butterflies are organized into
Riodinidae – the butterflies in this family often have metallic spots and are often orange, blue and black

Words Related To Butterflies

Caterpillars hatch from their eggs
Then they pupate in a chrysalis.
Some species use silk to build a cocoon.
After metamorphosis, the adult butterfly, or imago emerges.
It feeds on nectar using a proboscis

Related post: Magic names

Words That Mean Butterfly In Other Languages

Acoma (Native American) buh’rai
Afrikaans (South Africa) skoenlapper, vlinder
Albanian – flutura
Amharic (Ethiopia) – birrabirro
Anglo Saxon – fifoldara
Arabic – farasha
Austrian – falter
Balinese (Indonesia) – kupukupu
Bengali – projapoti
Basque – tximeleta
Bulgarian – peperooda
Burmese (Burma) – lapia
Catalan papallona
Cebuano (Philippines) – kaba-kaba
Chechen (Chechnya) – polla
Cherokee (Native American) – kamama
Corsican – barabulella
Croatian – leptir
Czech – motýl
Danish – sommerfugl (translates to summer bird)
Dutch – vlindeer
Middle English – buterflie
Old English – buttorfleoge
Esperanto – papilio
Estonian – liblikas
Farsi – parvanè
Finnish – perhonen
French – papillon
Gaelic (Ireland) – féileacán
Gaelic (Scotland) – dearbadan-de
Georgian – pepela
German – Schmetterling
Modern Greek – petalou’da
Ancient Greek -psyche
Hawaiian – pulelehua
Hebrew – parpar
Hindi – titli
Hmong (Vietnam) – npau npaim
Hopi (Native American) povolhoya
Hungarian – lepke pillango
Icelandic – fiðrildi
Irish – féileacán
Italian – farfalla
Japanese – chou chou
Javanese – kupu
Korean – nabi
Kyrgyz (Kyrgyzstan) – göpölök
Lakhotah Sioux (Native American) – kimimila
Latin – papilio
Latvian – taurins
Luxemburgish – Päiperlek
Malagasy (Madagascar) – lolo
Mandarin – húdié
Maori – pepeké purerehua’
Mayan – pepen
Mongolian – erveehey
Nahuatl (Aztec) – paplotl
Navajo (Native American) – k’aalogii
Nepali – putali
Polish – motyl
Portuguese – borboleta
Roma (Gypsy language, Slovakia) – lepetka
Russian – bábochka
Serbian – leptir
Somali – balanbaalis
Spanish – mariposa
Swahili – kipepeo
Swedish – fjäril
Tagalog (Philippines) – paru-paro
Taiwanese – o’ -tiap
Tamil (India) – vannattuppucci
Turkish – kelebek
Ukrainian – metelyk
Vietnamese – buom buom
Welsh – iâr fach yr haf (translates to “little summer hen”)
Zulu – iveveshane; uvemvane; ijubajubane; itwabitwabi
!Xu (Bushman language of the Kalahari Desert) – Dhad’hama

Translations courtesy of insecta.pro

What name means butterfly in Hebrew?

Parpar is the Hebrew word for butterfly.

What name means butterfly in Greek?

The name Psyche means butterfly in Ancient Greek, and Petalou’da means butterfly in Modern Greek.

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Wrap Up- Names That Mean Butterfly

An encounter with these winged-beauties can really brighten up a day. We got a few other collections of names that mean sweet, destiny, and just awesomely lucky.

We hope you’ve enjoyed fluttering through these beautiful names that mean butterfly. Let us know your favorite names that mean butterfly in the comments!