Originally posted by jenfer
yup, that's the word i was thinking too. lotus flower. the character itself can stand alone. and i don't think it has any other meaning except lotus flower. i don't know exactly what "willow" is so i can't help much.
I'm not sure why so many baby name websites translate it to mean graceful willow.

Jenfer, a willow is a type of tree...in Chinese it is yang2 liu3 (杨柳).

If you combined lian2 with hua1 (莲花), then I think that would make a beautiful name. It means lotus flower as well, but sounds more like a name as it is two syllables.