Laura

What Laura means

Means “laurel tree”

From Late Latin saint's name Laura, from the feminine form of laurus (“laurel tree”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Laura” (revision 94541079), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Laura?

US: Falling: down from #320 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #145 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1968, when 18,741 girls got the name (#11 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 1,997 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,711 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,052 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in MT (1.77 per 1,000 girls), MA (1.29 per 1,000 girls), MS (1.01 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Laura is #379 in the US and #303 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Laura were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Lyra711 US · 643 E&W
• Lara409 US · 465 E&W
• Lora58 US · 7 E&W
• Lira29 US · 21 E&W
• Leira22 US
• Laira9 US · 5 E&W
• Larae11 US
• Lera10 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Laura

Girls

• Amanda#493“to love”^*
• Sara#198Variant of Sarah, meaning “masters, princes”^*
• Monica#736Editor’s note Down from #559 in 2015 to #736 in 2025 in the US
• Priscilla#544“former, ancient, old-fashioned”^*
• Gloria#654“glory”^*
• Rosa#652“rose”^*

For a brother

• Mark#244Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1960, with 58,727 babies; 1,416 in 2025
• Paul#262“small”^*
• Martin#335“of or like Mars”^*
• Lawrence#518Editor’s note Down from #499 in 2015 to #518 in 2025 in the US
• Justin#233“just”^*
• Marcus#258Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1984, with 5,996 babies; 1,341 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Latin, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Laura’s. Rank is US 2025.