Marigold is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

name taken from the common name used for flowers from different genera such as

Calendula ''Calendula'' () is a genus of about 15–20 species''Calendula''.
Flora of China.

Tagetes ''Tagetes'' () is a genusSoule, J. A. 1996. Infrageneric Systematics of Tagetes. Pgs. 435-443 in Compositae: Systematics, Proceedings of the International Compositae Conference, Kew 1994, Vol. I, Eds. D.J.N. Hind & H.J. Beentje. of 50 species ...

, among others. The flower name is derived from Mary’s

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and was used in reference to

the Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loret ...

. Marigolds are often incorporated into “

Mary garden Mary Garden (20 February 1874 – 3 January 1967) was a Scottish-American operatic lyric soprano, then mezzo-soprano, with a substantial career in France and America in the first third of the 20th century. She spent the latter part of her chil ...

s” that are planted with flowers associated with Mary. The name came into use along with other flower and plant names that became popular for girls in

-speaking countries in the 1800s and early 1900s. It has recently increased in usage in part due to a child character on the popular TV series ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. It first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV (TV network), ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United St ...

.'' It has ranked among the top 1,000 names used for newborn girls in both the United States and Canada since 2021.

Notable people

*Marigold Churchill (1918–1921), daughter of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

* Marigold Linton (born 1936), American cognitive psychologist and member of the Morongo Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians * Marigold Santos (born 1981), Filipino-Canadian artist * Marigold “Goldie” Semple (1952–2009), Canadian actress *

Marigold Southey Marigold Merlyn Baillieu Southey, Lady Southey (; born 2 May 1928) is an Australian philanthropist who served as Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria from 2001 to 2006. Lady Southey was born in San Francisco into the Myer family, the youngest of fou ...

, (born 1928), Australian philanthropist who served as Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria from 2001 to 2006.

Notes

English feminine given names Feminine given names Given names derived from plants or flowers {{given name