Entry № 1052 · French origin

Hortense Hortense — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ or-TAHNS /

Gender

Girl

Origin

French

Meaning

"Garden (Napoleon's stepdaughter, mother of Napoleon III)"

Syllables

Rank · US 2025

№ 0

First recorded

Medieval (French)

The meaning

A name that means "garden (napoleon's stepdaughter, mother of napoleon iii)".

Hortense is the French form of Latin Hortensia — from hortus ("garden"). **Hortense de Beauharnais (1783-1837)** was the **daughter of Joséphine and stepdaughter of Napoleon Bonaparte** — who married her to his brother Louis. **Queen of Holland from 1806-1810; mother of the future Emperor Napoleon III**. **Talented composer**, she wrote *Partant pour la Syrie* — which became the unofficial national anthem of the Second French Empire.

Featured in countless Napoleonic histories.

Garden. Joséphine's daughter, Queen of Holland, mother of Napoleon III.

In its original form

The name in its native script.

Hortense

Transliteration: Hortense
Pronunciation: / ɔːrˈtɑːns /
Root: —
Grammatical form: —

Popularity

Where Hortense stands.

Current rank · 2025

№ 0 in the U.S.

All-time peak

№ 0 in 0

Babies named Hortense · last year

87 in the U.S.

First entered SSA top-1000

Rank, 1995–2025 Lower = more popular

Namesakes

Hortenses before her.

Real people

Hortense de Beauharnais

Queen of Holland; mother of Napoleon III.

1783 – 1837

In fiction

Hortense

Napoleonic histories.

Names connected to Hortense.

Numerology

The number behind Hortense.

The Seeker

Hortense reduces to seven — the number of Napoleon's stepdaughter.

Parents on Hortense

Why families chose this name.

"Napoleon's stepdaughter. Eight letters. Hortense."

Sophie · Mother of one · Paris