Laban
Masculine · “White”
Laban is a Hebrew name meaning white, from the Book of Genesis. Its root also names the snowy mountains of Lebanon, and by chance it belongs to a dancer who worked out how to write dance down.
How old is the name Laban?
Laban first appears in US birth records in 1886 — 139 years ago. The typical Laban alive today was born around 1981, making them about 44 years old. About 400 people named Laban are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Laban most popular?
Laban peaked in 1886, reaching #959 nationally. See the whole 1886 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From lavan to Laban
The story of Laban
The mountains of Lebanon take their name from the same Semitic root as Laban, for the snow on their peaks, and in Arabic laban is a drink of cultured milk. Rudolf Laban, a Hungarian-born dancer and teacher, spent years devising a system of symbols that could record any movement of the human body on paper, as music is written in notes; Labanotation is still used to preserve choreography. In Genesis, Laban is the brother of Rebekah and the father of Leah and Rachel.
Meaning
'White'
Laban is from Hebrew lavan, 'white'.
How the name formed
- lavan
- Laban
Related forms: Lavan · Laban
Pronouncing Laban
LAY-bun
Two syllables with the stress on the first.
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
- 1886
- Most boys named
- 199212 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #959reached in 1886
- Change vs 2018
- 0.0%5 in 2021, from 5
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.
Laban in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Lavan in Hebrew — same name
- Laban in Greek — same name
Labans among us
people named Laban 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
Laban 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
- A biblical name with a settled meaning.
- Short and firm.
- Almost certain to be the only one.
- In Genesis, Laban tricks Jacob into marrying Leah before Rachel, and Bible readers will remember that.
- Some will say LAH-bun.
- It may be taken for a surname.
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Laban
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Labans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Laban are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Laban in 2025?
- Laban is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Laban with classmates?
- Laban will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More L names
The most-given names starting with L, all years combined.
Larry#1084 · Lawrence#518 · Louis#249 · Logan#53 · Liam#1 · Lucas#10 · Luke#33 · Leonard#637
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Laban? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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