Lark
Feminine · “the lark”
Lark is given to both — 1,862 girls and 272 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Lark is the English bird, and the word is a shortening — the Old English was laewerce, which nobody has been able to explain.
How old is the name Lark?
Lark first appears in US birth records in 1945 — 80 years ago. The typical Lark alive today was born around 1995, making them about 30 years old. About 1,700 people named Lark are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lark most popular?
Lark peaked in 1949, reaching #1109 nationally. Today it ranks #4352, 3,243 places below that high. See the whole 1949 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From laewerce to Lark
The story of Lark
The skylark sings while climbing vertically and has been a fixed subject of English poetry since the medieval period — Shelley, Hopkins, Meredith and Vaughan Williams all took it up, and the bird's habit of singing at height for minutes at a time is the reason. The word for a prank is probably a different word entirely. Lark appears as an American given name from the 1940s.
Meaning
the lark
From Old English laewerce, worn down to lark by the sixteenth century; the origin of the longer form is unknown, which is unusual for a bird this familiar. The phrase about a lark meaning a spree is a separate word.
How the name formed
- laewerce
- lark
Related forms: Lerche · Leeuwerik
Pronouncing Lark
LARK
One syllable. There is no variation in English.
Nicknames for Lark
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
- 1945
- Most girls named
- 195067 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1109reached in 1949
- Change vs 2023
- −28.9%32 in 2025, from 45
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.
Lark in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Lerche in German — related form
- Leeuwerik in Dutch — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Colorado.
Larks among us
people named Lark are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 50,227 born in 2025 was named Lark
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Stanley test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Lark's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Stanley climbed just as high around 1927, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Stanley's path sketches the road Lark is walking now.
Lark sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Lark is headed
Lark should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Lark beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Lark in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- An ordinary English word, so nobody has to be taught to say or spell it.
- Four letters and one syllable — as short as a name gets.
- A bird with an extraordinary literary record behind it.
- The word also means a prank, which will be played on.
- It is a common noun and will be read as one rather than as a name at first.
- A one-syllable name gives no room for a nickname.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Lark to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Lark
Feminine · #4352 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Larks are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,700 people named Lark are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lark in 2025?
- Lark ranks #4352 among US girl names in 2025, with 32 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Lark?
- About 1 in every 50,227 US girls born in 2025 was named Lark — 32 in all.
- Will my child share the name Lark with classmates?
- Lark will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Lark
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Sigrid#4352 · Adel#4352 · Lovella#4352 · Kaysha#4352 · Arissa#4352 · Joseline#4352 · Yajaira#4352 · Elma#4352
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Lark? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Lark and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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