Lorraine
Masculine · “From Lorraine”
Lorraine is given to girls far more often — 209,910 girls against 935 boys since 1880. See Lorraine as a girl name
Lorraine is a piece of ground before it is a name — the borderland between France and Germany, fought over for as long as either country has existed. It is one of the few names in American use that is also a place a reader can drive to, and a name whose history is mostly other people's wars.
How old is the name Lorraine?
Lorraine first appears in US birth records in 1901 — 124 years ago. The typical Lorraine alive today was born around 1932, making them about 93 years old. About 200 people named Lorraine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lorraine most popular?
Lorraine peaked in 1901, reaching #1058 nationally. See the whole 1901 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Lotharingia to Lorraine
The story of Lorraine
Two pieces of dynastic bookkeeping explain why the name is everywhere in European history. When an exiled king of Poland lost his throne, France handed him the duchy of Lorraine as a consolation; he settled in Nancy, spent his last decades rebuilding it, and left behind one of the most beautiful squares in Europe. The duchy went to France on his death, which was the point of the arrangement. Its previous duke had been bought out with something better: Francis of Lorraine married Maria Theresa, heir to the Habsburg lands, and gave up his duchy to do it. Every Habsburg since has carried his province in the family name, which is why the house that ruled central Europe into the twentieth century was called Habsburg-Lorraine.
Meaning
From Lorraine, the duchy on the French and German border
The region takes its name from Lothar, a grandson of Charlemagne, whose share of the divided empire was a long strip running from the North Sea to Italy. Lotharingia wore down to Lorraine. The name given to a child means, simply, the woman from that place.
How the name formed
- Lotharingia
- Lorraine
Related forms: Lothringen · Lorena · Lorena
Pronouncing Lorraine
luh-RAYN
Two syllables, stress at the back. The French say it with a nasal ending that English has no way to write and does not attempt.
Nicknames for Lorraine
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
- 1901
- Most boys named
- 193040 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1058reached in 1901
- Change vs 1977
- +40.0%7 in 1989, 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.
Lorraine in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Lothringen in German — related form
- Lorena in Italian — same name
- Lorena in Spanish — same name
Lorraines among us
people named Lorraine 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
Lorraine 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
- The place behind it is real, mapped and full of history a child can grow into.
- It has been familiar in English for a century without ever becoming a cliché.
- The stress at the back gives it a strong finish, and it has several very different short forms.
- Loraine, Lorrine and Laraine are all in circulation, so expect the spelling to be checked.
- The name is closely tied to one American generation, though it has begun to be given again.
- The spelling is recorded for boys as well, though nearly all of it belongs to the girls.
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What they receive
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Lorraine
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Lorraines are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Lorraine are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lorraine in 2025?
- Lorraine is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Lorraine with classmates?
- Lorraine 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 Lorraine? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Lorraine and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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