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Girl · Scottish, literary
Lorna Say it: LOR-nuh
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Meaning Apparently coined by R. D. Blackmore for Lorna Doone (1869), possibly from the Scottish place name Lorne.
Likely the main view, with some doubt.
Spread by the novel's lasting popularity.
Its wave through time Fading since the 1940s
In the United States 0 10 20 30 40 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 Peak 1941 per 100,000 babies of that sex 28,327 babies given this name since 1885 At its height in 1942, about 1 in 2,600 girls 52 babies in 2020 Famous bearers Lorna Doone, heroine of Blackmore's novel Names worth a look Fiona Girl Popularized, and probably coined, by James Macpherson in his Ossian poems of the 1760s, from Gaelic fionn 'white, fair'. Revolutions · peak 2017 Arabella Girl A Scottish name of uncertain origin, perhaps a variant of Annabel or from Latin orabilis 'yielding to prayer'. Renaissance · peak 2017 Effie Girl Scottish pet form of Euphemia, Greek 'well-spoken'. Victorian · peak 1886 · forgotten Muriel Girl Probably from a Celtic name meaning 'sea-bright', from muir 'sea' and geal 'bright'. Middle Ages · peak 1922 · forgotten Euphemia Girl Greek euphēmia, 'good speech, good repute'. Early Medieval · forgotten Primrose Girl The flower, from Medieval Latin prima rosa 'first rose'. Victorian · forgotten Lauren Girl A feminine form of Laurence, from Latin Laurentius 'from Laurentum', a town near Rome. Modern · peak 1989 Lawrence Boy Latin Laurentius, 'man from Laurentum', a town near Rome; a link to laurus 'laurel' is possible but uncertain. Rome · peak 1949 Where this comes from Well-known works of literature 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.