Laura

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Girl · Latin

Laura

Say it: LOW-rah

Try it with your surname

Meaning

Usually explained from Latin laurus 'laurel'; it may also be a short form of Laurentia.

Likelythe main view, with some doubt.

Petrarch's sonnets to Laura in the 14th century made it a lasting literary name.

Its wave through time

Fading since the 1960s

In the United States

800,076 babies given this name since 1880
At its height in 1968, about 1 in 88 girls
860 babies in 2020

Through the ages

Used by

Italian English Spanish German Brazilian Andean Argentine American

The family of the name

Other spellings: Lora

Italian	Laura
Spanish	Laura
French	Laure

Famous bearers

Laura, the beloved of Petrarch's poems
Laura Ingalls Wilder, US author

Names worth a look

EmmaGirlGermanic short form of names beginning with ermen/irmin 'whole, great, universal'.Early Medieval · peak 1885

AnnaGirlGreek and Latin form of Hebrew Ḥannah, 'grace, favour'.Biblical · peak 1891

AngelaGirlFrom Greek angelos 'messenger, angel', through Latin.Middle Ages · peak 1975

CatherineGirlGreek Aikaterinē, of unknown origin. Its link to katharos 'pure' is a later folk etymology that changed the Latin…Early Medieval · peak 1909

HelenGirlUncertain. Greek Helenē is often linked to helanē 'torch' or to selēnē 'moon', but no derivation is agreed; 'light'…Greece · peak 1911

AliceGirlFrom Old French Aalis, a contraction of Germanic Adalheidis ('noble kind').Middle Ages · peak 1906

LarryBoyA pet form of Lawrence, from Latin Laurentius 'from Laurentum'.Modern · peak 1947

LaurenGirlA feminine form of Laurence, from Latin Laurentius 'from Laurentum', a town near Rome.Modern · peak 1989

Where this comes from

Well-known works of literature
National birth statistics of European countries source
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.