Lorain
Feminine · “the kingdom of Lothar”
Lorain is given to both — 1,024 girls and 213 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Lorraine is the last piece of Charlemagne's empire still carrying its owner's name. When the empire was divided among three brothers, the middle strip went to the eldest, and the northern part of it was called Lothar's kingdom — Lotharingia — which wore down over eleven centuries into Lorraine.
How old is the name Lorain?
Lorain first appears in US birth records in 1900 — 125 years ago. The typical Lorain alive today was born around 1931, making them about 94 years old. About 400 people named Lorain are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lorain most popular?
Lorain peaked in 1907, reaching #1142 nationally. See the whole 1907 chart.
Where it comes from
From Charlemagne's empire divided among three grandsons in 843 to Lorain
The story of Lorain
The division at Verdun in 843 split an empire into three, and the middle share was the problem. It was a long north-south strip with no natural borders, containing both capitals and most of the wealth, and it began falling apart almost immediately. Its northern half, Lothar's kingdom, was fought over by the eastern and western shares — which became Germany and France — for the next eleven hundred years, changing hands in 1871, in 1918, in 1940 and in 1944. A name that started as one brother's inheritance became the most contested ground in Europe.
Meaning
the kingdom of Lothar
The region is named after a man: Lothar, a Frankish king whose share of a divided empire became a territory and then a duchy and then a French province. The name has been a woman's first name in English since the nineteenth century, and this spelling drops one r and the final e, which changes nothing audible and produces a form that looks like a place rather than a person.
How the name formed
- Charlemagne's empire divided among three grandsons in 843
- the middle share becomes Lothar's kingdom
- Lotharingia wears down into Lorraine
- the region becomes a woman's name in English
- Lorain appears in American records in the 1900s
Related forms: Lorraine · Lothringen · Loraine
Pronouncing Lorain
luh-RAYN
Two syllables with the stress at the back. Some families front it, LOR-un, which is closer to how the province is said in French and rare in America.
Nicknames for Lorain
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
- 1900
- Most girls named
- 191935 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1142reached in 1907
- Change vs 1979
- −16.7%5 in 2009, from 6
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.
Lorain in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Lorraine in French — spelling variant
- Lothringen in German — same name
- Loraine in English — spelling variant
Lorains among us
people named Lorain 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
Lorain 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 has a genuine and very well documented place behind it.
- Lori and Rain are both available and belong to different decades.
- It is read correctly at sight despite the missing letters.
- Lorraine and Loraine are both commoner and will be substituted.
- It works for a child of either sex, which some forms will query.
- It belongs to the first half of the last century in American use.
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What they receive
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Lorain
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Lorains 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 Lorain are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lorain in 2025?
- Lorain is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Lorain with classmates?
- Lorain 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 Lorain? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Lorain and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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