Moonlight Over the Lotus Pond watercolor painting by Fan Stanbrough.
The lotus (蓮花, lián huā, 荷花, hé huā) is known as the gentleman’s flower because it grows out from the mud, pure and unstained. The “he” in a man’s name indicates he is either a Buddhist or connected to Buddhism. The “he” in a woman’s name is a wish that she be pure and respected. 蓮 (lián) sounds similar to 聯 (lián, to bind, connect as in marriage); 戀(liàn) means to “love” while 廉 (lián) means “modesty”; 荷 (hé)sounds similar to 和 ( hé, also, one after another, uninterrupted).
Quote from https://www.thoughtco.com/chinese-flower-lotus-687523
