Lorry
Feminine
Lorry is given to both — 1,024 girls and 221 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Lorry is a short form that can be cut from at least three different names, and it is also the British word for a truck — a word whose origin has defeated every etymologist who has looked at it. It appears in the 1830s meaning a low flat railway wagon, and where it came from is anybody's guess.
How old is the name Lorry?
Lorry first appears in US birth records in 1943 — 82 years ago. The typical Lorry alive today was born around 1962, making them about 63 years old. About 900 people named Lorry are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lorry most popular?
Lorry peaked in 1960, reaching #1312 nationally. See the whole 1960 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From several longer names produce the same short form to Lorry
The story of Lorry
The word turns up first among railwaymen for a low wagon without sides, moves to horse-drawn versions of the same thing, and arrives at motor vehicles when those appear — by which time it is simply what Britain calls a truck. Americans, who had no such word, took truck instead, which came from a Greek word for a wheel by way of the Latin for a pulley. Two countries with one language ended up with different words for the same object because the object arrived at slightly different moments, and each reached for whatever was to hand.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Laura, Lorraine and Lorelei can all produce this short form, and so can a surname. There is no way to choose. The vehicle word is unrelated and undated: the best suggestion is a dialect verb lurry, meaning to pull or drag, which is recorded in the north of England, but the connection has never been demonstrated and the dictionaries say so.
How the name formed
- several longer names produce the same short form
- an English dialect word may lie behind the vehicle
- lorry appears for a railway wagon in the 1830s
- Lorry used as an American given name from the 1940s
- peaks around 1960
Related forms: Laurie · Lori
Pronouncing Lorry
LOR-ee
Two syllables, stress at the front. Identical to Laurie and Lori in every American mouth; British speakers distinguish the first vowel slightly.
Nicknames for Lorry
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
- 1943
- Most girls named
- 196070 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1312reached in 1960
- Change vs 1997
- +20.0%6 in 2013, 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.
Lorry in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Laurie in English — spelling variant
- Lori in English — spelling variant
Lorrys among us
people named Lorry 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
Lorry 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 is short, warm and read correctly at sight by anybody.
- It works for a child of either sex, and the record carries it on both sides.
- Several respectable long forms stand behind it if a family wants one.
- In Britain, Ireland and Australia the word means a heavy goods vehicle.
- Laurie and Lori are both commoner and will be substituted constantly.
- There is no meaning to give her and three candidate parents.
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What they receive
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Lorry
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Lorrys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Lorry are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lorry in 2025?
- Lorry is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Lorry with classmates?
- Lorry 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 Lorry? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Lorry and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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