Fun Facts About the Name Girasol
- 52 babies named Girasol: U.S. records list 52 babies given the name Girasol from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Girasol Mean?
Girasol is a Spanish word meaning "sunflower." It is a compound of the verb girar ("to turn") and sol ("sun"), so its literal sense is "it turns toward the sun" - a description of the plant's habit of turning its flower head to follow the sun. Girar descends from Latin gyrare, from Greek gyros, "circle," while sol comes from Latin sol, "sun."
The same compound appears in Italian as girasole and in French as tournesol (tourner + soleil), and English once used turnsole for the same idea. Some etymological accounts treat the Spanish word as a borrowing from the Italian one, while others see the two as separate formations from a shared pattern; the point is not settled. In English, girasol is used mainly as a gemological term for a translucent opal that glows with a reddish or bluish sheen, a figurative extension of the "sun" element rather than a separate origin.
Girasol Name History & Origins
Girasol belongs to an old group of compound words for plants that seem to follow the sun. In medieval Italian and Spanish, the elements "turn" plus "sun" named the heliotrope and similar plants well before the sunflower reached Europe from the Americas in the sixteenth century. The word was then applied to the sunflower and became the ordinary Spanish term for it. French tournesol and Italian girasole follow the same pattern, and English borrowed turnsole from French for the same plant idea.
Because the Spanish word is built from everyday vocabulary, it also serves as a personal name. It is used mainly as a feminine given name in the Spanish-speaking world, alongside other flower names such as Rosa, Margarita, and Violeta. It is also found as a surname in the Philippines and elsewhere where Spanish naming customs took hold. In English-speaking countries, the word is met far more often as the name of the opal than as a personal name.
How Popular is the Name Girasol?
Girasol has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2023. Its best rank was #9,197 in 2023.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #11,270 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2024 | #11,406 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2023 | #9,197 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2022 | #9,942 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2021 | #9,812 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2020 | #15,926 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Girasol Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are introspective, prophetic, philosophical, and soul searching, but also can be analytical, critical and opinionated. You think deeply and clearly, have an air of mystery, can be solitary and secretive. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
You desire to inspire and lead, to control other's affairs. You are giving, courageous and bold, action oriented,energetic and strong willed. You want to make a difference in the world, and this attitude often attracts you to cultural interests, politics, social issues, and the cultivation of your creative talents.
✦ Girasol's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Girasol's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.