National Heather Day – December 3, 2024

History of National Heather Day

Heather is widely regarded as a female name of Middle English origin. The name means the heather plant, a variety of evergreen shrubs with purplish-pink flowers and small, scale-like leaves. The flowering plant is primarily known to thrive on peaty barren lands — which explains why it’s mostly found in Scotland, the northeastern U.S., and some parts of England. The word ‘heather’ is originally derived from the Middle English ‘hather’. Heather was first recorded as a given name in 1852 by the New York Times when a mother and her infant, Miss Heather Campbell, emigrated from Glasgow, Scotland, on August 2. In 1935, the name debuted on the American female naming charts, and its usage grew slowly and steadily for about 30 years.

By 1967, Heather landed on the Top 100 list — coming in at number 997 — and ultimately jumped to the Top 10 female baby names by 1972! In 1975, Heather peaked as the third most commonly used girl’s name in the U.S. as almost 25,000 baby girls received the moniker — only trailing behind Jennifer and Amy. Since then, Heather’s popularity has nosedived. As of 2011, less than 400 babies were given the name.

Some popular Heathers include late English actress Heather Angel (1909 to 1986); American hip-hop artist Heather B. Gardner; American civil rights activist, feminist, and political strategist Heather Booth; American actresses Heather Locklear, Heather Morris, Heather Tom, and Heather Matarazzo; Canadian model Heather Marks; Canadian squash player Heather Wallace; British singer Heather Small; American basketball player Heather Burge; and Miss America winner Heather Whitestone. Fictional characters with the moniker include Heather Badcock, a victim in Agatha Christie’s 1962 novel, “The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side,” and Heather, from the Dreamworks’ 2006 3D computer-animated film “Over the Hedge.”