La
Feminine
La is given to both — 1,442 girls and 314 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
La on a birth record is usually not a chosen name. It is the front of a longer one, cut off by a form, a transcription or a clerk who ran out of room, and the number of entries is roughly what you would expect from that kind of accident. It is also a note in the scale, and the scale's syllables come from a hymn.
How old is the name La?
La first appears in US birth records in 1913 — 112 years ago. The typical La alive today was born around 1982, making them about 43 years old. About 1,300 people named La are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name La most popular?
La peaked in 1990, reaching #1796 nationally. See the whole 1990 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From The American prefix that opens hundreds of names to La
Our story of La
The syllables of the scale were taken out of a Latin hymn to John the Baptist in which each line begins one note higher than the last. An eleventh-century monk teaching singers noticed this and used the first syllable of each line as a name for the pitch, which gave six of the notes their names; the seventh was added later from the initials of the hymn's last line, and one of the six was renamed because the original was hard to sing. That system is the ancestor of the one children still learn. The two letters on this certificate have nothing to do with any of it, but a child who asks where their name comes from can be told the truth about the form field and something considerably better about the syllable.
Meaningnot established
Not established
As a name there is nothing to translate: the two letters are the American prefix that opens hundreds of names, standing alone, and the prefix has no lexical content. Where a family did choose it deliberately, they chose a shape rather than a word. The musical syllable is unrelated and comes from a completely different source.
How the name formed
- The American prefix that opens hundreds of names
- Appearing alone on a register, usually by truncation
- Occasionally chosen deliberately as a shape
- Also the fifth syllable of the sung scale
Pronouncing La
LAH
One syllable, said with an open a. It is the shortest a name can be while still being a syllable, and there is nothing at all to teach anybody about it.
Nicknames for La
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1913
- Most girls named
- 199168 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1796reached in 1990
- Change vs 2005
- −33.3%6 in 2007, from 9
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Las among us
people named La are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
La sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is impossible to mispronounce or to misspell.
- It works on the register for either child, which the record confirms.
- It pairs with any middle name at all, which is what a very short name is for.
- Two-letter names cause trouble with forms and systems that expect more.
- Many of the register entries are probably truncations rather than choices.
- There is no meaning to give, and the prefix does not supply one.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put La to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on La? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
La
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Las are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,300 people named La are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name La in 2025?
- La is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name La with classmates?
- La will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More L names
The most-given names starting with L, all years combined.
Linda#902 · Lisa#987 · Laura#379 · Lauren#401 · Lillian#57 · Lori#1721 · Louise#514 · Lois#1666
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles La? See the current top 100.
Choosing between La and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle