Heather is the name given of several species of flowering shrub in the family ericaceae. It includes Calluna vulgaris, which is associated with wind-swept moorlands and heaths in Britain. This association may have helped its popularity as a name, which peaked in the USA in the 1970s. It mirrored the popularity of Jennifer, whose -er ending may have also paved the way for it and other -er girls' names.See Also: Heath