Laura
Feminine · “laurel”
Laura is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 801,811 girls against 2,579 boys since 1880. See Laura as a boy name
Laura is the only name in its family that English never respelt. Lawrence acquired a w, Loretta acquired an Italian ending, Lorraine came from a different word altogether — and Laura arrived from Latin, kept every letter, and has been used in English continuously for eight hundred years without a gap.
How old is the name Laura?
Laura was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Laura alive today was born around 1966, making them about 59 years old. About 617,000 people named Laura are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Laura most popular?
Laura peaked in 1969, reaching #10 nationally. Today it ranks #379, 369 places below that high. See the whole 1969 chart.
Where it comes from
From laurus to Laura
The story of Laura
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. This one has simply been in use — in Italy, in Spain, in England, in Germany — since the Middle Ages, spelled the same way in all of them, said with only the small differences that any word acquires crossing a border. Very few names in any European language can say that, and none of the others in this family can.
Meaning
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.
How the name formed
- laurus
- Laura
Related forms: Laura · Laura · Laura · Laura · Laura
Pronouncing 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.
Nicknames for Laura
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 196318,514 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #10reached in 1969
- Change vs 2022
- −7.9%805 in 2025, from 874
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.
Laura in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Laura in Italian — same name
- Laura in Spanish — same name
- Laura in German — same name
- Laura in Polish — same name
- Laura in Hungarian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Lauras among us
people named Laura are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 1,997 born in 2025 was named Laura
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 Pamela test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Laura's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Pamela climbed just as high around 1953, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Pamela's path sketches the road Laura is walking now.
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 scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Laura is headed
Laura should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High 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.
Laura beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Laura in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- 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.
- It has an unbroken run in American records from the first year they were kept.
- 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.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Laura to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Laura
Feminine · #379 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Lauras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 617,000 people named Laura are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Laura in 2025?
- Laura ranks #379 among US girl names in 2025, with 805 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Laura?
- About 1 in every 1,997 US girls born in 2025 was named Laura — 805 in all.
- Will my child share the name Laura with classmates?
- Laura will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Laura
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Amari#380 · Ivory#378 · Demi#380 · Vanessa#377 · Astrid#376 · Nicole#382 · Giselle#382 · Anya#375
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Laura? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Laura and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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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