Yasmine

Yasmine is a variant transcription of the Arabic Yasmīn (يسمين), ultimately derived from the Old Persian “yasamen” meaning “Jasmine” (as in the flower). Jasmine essentially referred to a perfume produced from the flowering plant of the olive genus native to the warm temperate regions of the Old World (i.e., Afro-Eurasia). Jasmine – especially in the form of Yasmīn – has long been a popular female name in the Arab and Persian worlds. In the United States, the English equivalent Jasmine has been in use since the turn of the 20th century when naming girls after flowering plants and trees became a fashionable trend (like Lily, Rose and Violet). However, Jasmine’s increasing popularity in the last couple of decades owes much to the Disney character Princess Jasmine from the movie “Aladdin” (1992). The jasmine flower symbolizes elegance and grace, and is known for its intoxicating fragrance. Yasmine (with an “e”) is a Top 10 female name in Brussels, Belgium where there resides a high concentration of Turks and Moroccans.