Lorelei
Feminine · “from the Rhine cliff”
Lorelei began as a place: a steep slate cliff on a narrow bend of the Rhine, where the current runs fast and the echo comes back off the rock. German writers turned that echo into a song — Clemens Brentano invented the maiden of the rock in a ballad of 1801, Heinrich Heine wrote his version in 1824, and once Friedrich Silcher set it to music in 1837 the tune traveled everywhere German was sung. The name has been on American records since the early twentieth century, carried over with the song.
How old is the name Lorelei?
Lorelei first appears in US birth records in 1916 — 109 years ago. The typical Lorelei alive today was born around 2012, making them about 13 years old. About 17,000 people named Lorelei are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lorelei most popular?
Lorelei peaked in 2022, reaching #441 nationally. Today it ranks #441, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2022 chart.
Lorelei appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From Lurlei / Lorley (Rhine rock name) to Lorelei
The story of Lorelei
The Lorelei is a real rock, still standing above the Rhine near St. Goarshausen, long feared by boatmen for its current and famous for its echo. It had no maiden until Clemens Brentano wrote one into a ballad in 1801; Heine's 1824 poem 'Die Lore-Ley' gave her the gold comb and the song that distracts the sailor, and Silcher's 1837 melody made those verses one of the best-known German songs of the century. German emigration carried the tune to America, and the name followed the tune rather than the other way round. That is why Lorelei appears in English-speaking use as a whole, finished, poetic name rather than as a shortening of anything.
Meaningscholars disagree
from the Rhine cliff — 'murmuring rock' or 'lurking rock'
The second part is agreed on: '-ley' is a Rhineland word for rock or slate cliff. The first part is read two ways — from a dialect verb for murmuring (the echo and the rushing water) or from an older verb meaning to lurk or lie in wait. Both readings describe the same cliff.
How the name formed
- Lurlei / LorleyRhine rock name
- Lore LayBrentano, 1801
- Lore-LeyHeine, 1824
- Loreley
- Lorelei
Related forms: Loreley · Lorelai · Lurlei · Lurline · Лорелея
Pronouncing Lorelei
LOR-uh-lye
Three syllables, stress on the first, and the ending rhymes with 'eye'. Some readers say LOR-uh-lay on first sight, since '-ei' goes both ways in English. In German the '-ey' spelling sounds close to the American version: LOH-reh-lye.
Nicknames for Lorelei
High
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
- 1916
- Most girls named
- 2021701 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #441reached in 2022
- Change vs 2023
- +10.8%699 in 2025, from 631
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.
Lorelei in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Loreley in German — spelling variant
- Lorelai in English — spelling variant
- Lurlei in German — related form
- Lurline in English — related form
- Лорелея in Russian — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Loreleis among us
people named Lorelei are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 2,299 born in 2025 was named Lorelei
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 Ursula test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Lorelei's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Ursula climbed just as high around 1901, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Ursula's path sketches the road Lorelei is walking now.
Lorelei 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 Lorelei is headed
Lorelei 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.
Lorelei beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Lorelei in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two centuries of unbroken written history behind it, from the Rhine rock name to Brentano, Heine and Silcher's song.
- Several short forms already in real use — Lori, Lola, Rory — so there is room to grow into or out of the full name.
- Works in both English and German without adjustment; the spelling only shifts by one letter between them.
- Long enough to be distinct in a classroom while staying easy to say once heard, with no silent letters.
- Two spellings compete: Lorelei and Lorelai. Both are in real use in the US, so whichever you pick will occasionally be written the other way, and it is worth deciding early which one goes on the forms.
- The '-ei' ending invites LOR-uh-lay from people reading it cold. Expect a small correction now and then, especially in the first week of a new school year.
- The legend behind it is a dark one — a maiden whose singing draws sailors onto the rocks. Most people know only the beauty of the song, but the story is there if anyone looks it up.
- It is uncommon enough that a Lorelei will likely be the only one she knows, which cuts both ways: no last-initial in class, and a lifetime of spelling it out on the phone.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Lorelei to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Lorelei
Feminine · #441 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Loreleis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 17,000 people named Lorelei are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lorelei in 2025?
- Lorelei ranks #441 among US girl names in 2025, with 699 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Lorelei?
- About 1 in every 2,299 US girls born in 2025 was named Lorelei — 699 in all.
- Will my child share the name Lorelei with classmates?
- Lorelei will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Lorelei
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Payton#440 · Gracelynn#442 · Alessandra#443 · Mya#443 · Maddison#438 · Macie#438 · Emmy#445 · Lilliana#445
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Lorelei? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Lorelei and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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