Meaning

noun a city in central Italy on the Arno; provincial capital of Tuscany; center of the Italian Renaissance from 14th to 16th centuries

noun a town in northeast South Carolina; transportation center

originBorrowed from French Florence f, from Latin Flōrentia (as a given name, a feminine form of Flōrentius), from flōrens (“flowering, flourishing”), from flōs (“flower”), connected with English bloom and blossom. Doublet of Firenze. The female given name gained popularity from Florence Nightingale who was born in the Tuscan city.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0