girl's name
Hortense
or-TAHNS
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Letters 8
- Popularity Top 1000 (France)
- Births on record 21,733
France
#112
2025 births
Hortense is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "of the garden," from hortus. It ranks 112th in France, is at its peak in our records now, and appears in no other market we hold.
- Hortense is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 2025, when 455 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,296 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
Hortense over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 2,600 |
| 1910s | 1,495 |
| 1920s | 1,220 |
| 1930s | 505 |
| 1940s | 295 |
| 1950s | 290 |
| 1960s | 280 |
| 1970s | 265 |
| 1980s | 635 |
| 1990s | 1,450 |
| 2000s | 1,805 |
| 2010s | 2,245 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,325 |
What Hortense means
Hortense means of the garden, from the Latin hortus, an enclosed garden or plot. It began as a Roman family name rather than a description, so the garden belonged to an ancestor's land rather than to anyone called Hortense.
Where Hortense comes from
Hortense is the French form of the Roman family name Hortensius, from hortus, a garden — the same root behind horticulture. Quintus Hortensius Hortalus was Cicero's great rival at the Roman bar in the first century BC, and the name survived in Christian use through a Saint Hortense. Its modern French standing owes most to Hortense de Beauharnais, daughter of the Empress Joséphine by her first marriage, stepdaughter of Napoleon, married to his brother Louis and so Queen of Holland; her son became Napoleon III. The hydrangea is called hortensia in French and several other languages, named in the eighteenth century, and the flower and the name are commonly assumed to explain each other — in fact both point back independently to hortus.
Hortense in use
Hortense ranks 112th in France with about 455 births in 2025 and is at its peak in our records this year, which is unusual for a name our records carry from 1900. It appears in no other market we hold. That combination — a long French history, a current high point and no international presence at all — is the signature of a name being revived at home rather than one spreading.
How popular is Hortense?
In 2025, Hortense was given to 455 babies in France, ranking #112 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Hortense is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Hortense
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Hortense also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Hortense over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Hortense in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Hortense
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Hortense — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Hortense
What does the name Hortense mean?
Hortense means "of the garden," from the Latin hortus.
Is Hortense named after the hydrangea?
No. The flower is called hortensia and both names point back independently to hortus, a garden.
Who was Hortense de Beauharnais?
Napoleon's stepdaughter, Queen of Holland, and the mother of Napoleon III.
How popular is Hortense?
112th in France, and at its high point in our records.
Is Hortense a girl's or a boy's name?
Hortense is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
Is Hortense a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Hortense currently ranks #112 in France. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.