Lurline
Feminine · “from a rock on the Rhine”
This name came into English through a Victorian opera about a nymph in the Rhine. It was written by an Irish composer, played across the English-speaking world for decades, and put a German legend and a name that had never been used in English in front of very large audiences at exactly the right moment.
How old is the name Lurline?
Lurline first appears in US birth records in 1887 — 138 years ago. The typical Lurline alive today was born around 1924, making them about 101 years old. About 300 people named Lurline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lurline most popular?
Lurline peaked in 1913, reaching #741 nationally. See the whole 1913 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Lore Lay to Lurline
The story of Lurline
The legend the opera is built on is about two hundred years old and was invented by one man. A German Romantic poet wrote a ballad at the very start of the nineteenth century about a beautiful woman on a rock above the river who lures sailors to their deaths, and it was so immediately convincing as folklore that within a generation everyone assumed it was ancient. It is not. There is no earlier trace of the story, the rock is simply a rock with a strong current below it, and the whole thing is a piece of deliberate literary myth-making that worked better than its author can have expected.
Meaningscholars disagree
from a rock on the Rhine
The name descends from the German legend rather than from any word, and the rock's own name is usually explained as murmuring or lurking joined to a word for a rock. That derivation is not secure.
How the name formed
- Lore Lay
- Lorelei
- Lurline
Pronouncing Lurline
LUR-leen
Two syllables with the stress at the front, though the ending pulls at it and some families move the weight to the back.
Nicknames for Lurline
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
- 1887
- Most girls named
- 192175 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #741reached in 1913
- Change vs 1964
- 0.0%5 in 1970, 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.
Lurlines among us
people named Lurline 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
Lurline 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 specific literary and musical history rather than a vague one.
- The sound is soft and unusual without being difficult.
- It is genuinely rare in any modern classroom.
- The legend behind it is about luring men to their deaths.
- The stress placement is unsettled between the two syllables.
- The generation that used it is now very old.
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Lurline
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Lurlines are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Lurline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lurline in 2025?
- Lurline is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Lurline with classmates?
- Lurline 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 Lurline? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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