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Girl · Italian
Loretta
Say it: luh-RET-uh
Meaning
Associated with Loreto in Italy, the shrine of the Holy House of Mary, and treated as a diminutive of Laura (Latin laurus 'laurel').
Likelythe main view, with some doubt.
Popular among Catholic families in the US, peaking around the 1930s.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 1930s
In the United States
- 176,111 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1938, about 1 in 282 girls
- 266 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Lauretta
Famous bearers
- Loretta Lynn, American country singer
- Loretta Young, American actress
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
- 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.