Head to head · Girls' names
Ivory vs Laura
#378 vs #379 in 2025
Ivory is a whisker ahead (#378 vs #379 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Ivory is climbing the charts fast, Laura is holding its place on the charts.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Ivory and Laura each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Ivory #1108, Laura #21 — Laura higher
- 1890s: Ivory #1034, Laura #34 — Laura higher
- 1900s: Ivory #875, Laura #48 — Laura higher
- 1910s: Ivory #939, Laura #61 — Laura higher
- 1920s: Ivory #1053, Laura #76 — Laura higher
- 1930s: Ivory #1052, Laura #98 — Laura higher
- 1940s: Ivory #1131, Laura #94 — Laura higher
- 1950s: Ivory #1423, Laura #44 — Laura higher
- 1960s: Ivory #2093, Laura #17 — Laura higher
- 1970s: Ivory #2175, Laura #19 — Laura higher
- 1980s: Ivory #1232, Laura #21 — Laura higher
- 1990s: Ivory #1411, Laura #53 — Laura higher
- 2000s: Ivory #1553, Laura #148 — Laura higher
- 2010s: Ivory #911, Laura #313 — Laura higher
- 2020s: Ivory #498, Laura #368 — Laura higher
Laura stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Ivory | Laura |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #1108 | #21 |
| 1890s | #1034 | #34 |
| 1900s | #875 | #48 |
| 1910s | #939 | #61 |
| 1920s | #1053 | #76 |
| 1930s | #1052 | #98 |
| 1940s | #1131 | #94 |
| 1950s | #1423 | #44 |
| 1960s | #2093 | #17 |
| 1970s | #2175 | #19 |
| 1980s | #1232 | #21 |
| 1990s | #1411 | #53 |
| 2000s | #1553 | #148 |
| 2010s | #911 | #313 |
| 2020s | #498 | #368 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Ivory
ivory — the hard creamy-white material of elephant tusk, and the pale off-white shade named after it
The English word came through Old French ivoire from Latin ebur. How ebur itself arose is less clear; the Latin is where the secure trail begins.
ebur (Latin) → ivoire (Old French) → ivorie (Middle English) → Ivory
How it traveled
This is a word name, and an old word: ivory has meant tusk in English since the Middle Ages, when it arrived from Old French as one of the many Norman-era borrowings that reshaped the language. As a given name it belongs to the English-speaking habit of naming children after precious and beautiful substances — the same instinct behind Pearl, Opal and Amber.
Laura
laurel
From the Latin laurus, the evergreen tree whose leaves crowned victors and poets. The reading is settled and the name is the plain Latin word with nothing added.
laurus → Laura
How it traveled
That continuity is the unusual thing about it. Most names of its age have gone out of use for a century or two and come back changed, or have been reshaped by one language and borrowed back by another.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Ivory
EYE-vuh-ree
Often compressed to two syllables in fast speech, EYE-vree, exactly as the ordinary word is. Both are the same name; no correcting needed.
- Ivy — The usual short form, and a very well-established given name in its own right — worth knowing, since an Ivory may be called Ivy by default.
- Vee — Informal, usually secondhand from Ivy rather than direct from Ivory.
Laura
LOR-uh
Two syllables with the weight at the front. Italian and Spanish give the first vowel more length, LAH-oo-rah, and Polish and German say it closer to the Italian.
- Laurie — The everyday form; a standing name of its own for women and men both.
- Lolly — An older affectionate form, used inside families.
- Lala — A reduplicated childhood form; used widely and rarely written.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Ivory if you want…
- a name on the way upup 223 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itIvory runs 3 syllables, Laura 2
- a newer arrivalIvory entered the US charts in 1886
- a name that feels very nowIvory is climbing the charts fast
Choose Laura if you want…
- a name holding steadyLaura is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesLaura is 2 syllables to Ivory's 3
- a long American recordLaura was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 54% for Ivory
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Ivory
Strengths
- Spelling needs no explaining — it is an English word most people can write on first hearing.
- Ivy is ready as a short form, and it is a familiar name itself, so the nickname needs no introduction.
- Not a recent invention: it has been given to American children for generations, so it carries a record rather than a trend.
To consider
- The ivory trade and elephant poaching are the association some adults reach for first. Children rarely make that link, but it is a real one and it comes up in conversation from time to time.
- Ivory is also a shade of off-white, familiar from paint charts, bridal fabric and Ivory soap, sold since the nineteenth century. Some people will hear the color or the brand before the name.
- Expect a certain amount of drift toward Ivy — from teachers, from relatives, from anyone in a hurry. Fine if you like Ivy; something to weigh if you do not.
Laura
Strengths
- It is spelled identically in at least six European languages.
- The meaning is settled, pleasant and easy to explain to a child.
- Five letters, two syllables, and no ambiguity in the spelling.
To consider
- It is very familiar, so a child may share it with others.
- The first vowel differs noticeably between English and the Romance languages.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of boys, though it reads overwhelmingly as a girl's name.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Ivory
54%chance Ivory feels dated by 2040
Ivory is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
Laura
12%chance Laura feels dated by 2040
Laura has held the top-100 across 12 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Ivory and Laura in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Ivory and Laura?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Color names beyond Scarlett
- Names ending in -y
- The top-10 club: every name that made it
- Classics hiding in plain sight
- all guides
Where Ivory and Laura each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Ivory or Laura — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Ivory or Laura?
- Ivory, in 2025: Ivory ranked #378 with 810 babies; Laura ranked #379 with 805 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Ivory or Laura?
- Ivory. Over the last five years Ivory moved up 223 places; Laura moved down 23 places.
- Which is the older name, Ivory or Laura?
- Ivory entered the US charts in 1886; Laura was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Laura is the older name.
- How many people are named Ivory and Laura?
- About 12,500 people named Ivory are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 617,000 people named Laura are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Ivorys or Lauras in the classroom?
- Ivory will almost certainly be the only one in school. Laura will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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