[onyx]

This is true ... the "myrtle" being a highly regarded flowering tree, not "that weird name of my great-aunt." Non-canonical sources say that Hadassah was the Hebrew name of the Jewish heroine Queen Esther. "Esther" is a Persian name, a variant of "Ishtar."

Thank you so much. We have those same trees (Flowering Myrtle's) lining our streets all throughout our neighborhood. They're barren right now.

A treasured Aunt of mine was named Mary Myrtle. She hated the name, Mary, so she always went by Myrtle.

[Tax-chick]

“Myrtle” is out of fashion right now, but Camellia and Magnolia are back in. I had a great-aunt Myrtle; the family called her “Mittie.”