Every Girl Name

Girl's name

Laura

Say it LOR-uh

Latin origin laurel tree 2 syllables

Sister names Middle names Deal sisters

Where Laura is loved, common and rare

Loved in Poland and Austria. Common across Switzerland, three German cities, Spain and six more places. Rare in Sweden, Ireland, Norway and ten more places.

1 in 515 girls born in Ireland in 2025

Every place

In 27 of the 40 official lists, among them Poland (4th), Austria (9th) and Switzerland (39th).

Show all 27 placesShow less
PlaceRankGirlsShare
Poland4th 20253,8211 in 31
Austria9th 20253731 in 96
Hungary18th 2025345rank only
Switzerland39th 20251421 in 239
Munich city51st 202524about 1 in 175
Spain53rd 2024498rank only
Quebec province66th 202580about 1 in 325
Berlin city67th 202345about 1 in 322
Slovenia74th 202524about 1 in 275
Cologne city74th 202317about 1 in 361
Italy87th 20243621 in 495
Catalonia region87th 2025511 in 378
Sweden109th 202591about 1 in 441
Ireland112th 2025411 in 515
Norway140th 2025381 in 574
The Netherlands163rd 202593about 1 in 656
Scotland217th 2025171 in 1,052
British Columbia province294th 202311about 1 in 1,087
Ontario province298th 202442about 1 in 1,297
England and Wales303rd 20251481 in 1,711
Northern Ireland334th 202541 in 1,822
France337th 20251601 in 1,792
Croatia19th 2025166rank only
Denmark30th 2025195rank only
Bonn city119th 20255about 1 in 603
Rostock city166th 20251about 1 in 985
Leipzig city212th 20252about 1 in 1,312

Rare, below the listed names: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand and Israel.

Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30) and Argentina (top 20).

Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.

Sources: Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); Belügyminisztérium, Nyilvántartások (kormany.hu) (Hungary); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Landeshauptstadt München, Statistisches Amt (opendata.muenchen.de) (Munich); INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística) (Spain); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Statistični urad Republike Slovenije (SURS), SiStat (Slovenia); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Idescat (Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya) (Catalonia); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); NISRA (Northern Ireland); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Ministarstvo pravosuđa, uprave i digitalne transformacije (Matica rođenih) (Croatia); Statistics Denmark (DST) (Denmark); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn); Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock (opendata-hro.de) (Rostock); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig). How we count, and every source

About the name

From the Late Latin saint's name Laura, the feminine form of laurus, 'laurel tree', this is a post-classical name made famous by Petrarch's sonnets to Laura in the fourteenth century.

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Two syllables, LOR-uh, give it a soft, classic sound. Lauren, Laurie and Lori are English relatives, Lora and Lara are close variants, and Laurel and Lauretta are further forms.

Laura remains a leading name in Poland and Austria and is well used in Hungary, while in Quebec, Ireland and Scotland it ranks lower. The French records place its peak in 1988, and it is now falling in most of the places where it is tracked, with no rises recorded. Many parents will know it as a name of their own generation.

Meaning, origin, pronunciation

Pronounced
LOR-uh, 2 syllables
Meaning
laurel tree
Origin
Latin
Other spellings
  • Lora
  • Lauren
  • Laurie
  • Lori
  • Lara
  • Lola
  • Laurinda
  • Laurel
  • Lauretta
  • Lol
  • Loretta
  • Lorraine
  • Laurika
  • Lolina
  • Laurita
  • Lauria
  • Lavra
  • Laurena
Etymology

From Late Latin saint's name Laura, from the feminine form of laurus (“laurel tree”). A post-classical name made famous by Petrarch's sonnets to Laura in the fourteenth century.

From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.

Over time

Over five years: falling in 15 of 26 regions, rising in none.

Show the yearsShow less

Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.

Poland 40th 2000 to 4th 2025
1st10th100th1000th19962025
Austria 10th 1996 to 9th 2025
1st10th100th1000th19962025
Switzerland 1st 2000 to 39th 2025
1st10th100th1000th19962025
Munich 11th 2013 to 51st 2025
1st10th100th1000th19962025
Quebec 62nd 1996 to 66th 2025
1st10th100th1000th19962025
Berlin 23rd 2012 to 67th 2023
1st10th100th1000th19962025

Ten years of ranks

Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.

Region2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
England and Wales150145169176178180200233258303
Scotland149153143224241205173228351217
Northern Ireland92215179157178190243237253334
Ireland54636284887891103105112
Ontario181186219181177228164163298
British Columbia376225283170128276316294
South Australia230109
Quebec88747257535866426866
France9410495141154179186247308337
The Netherlands101899910990104113142163
Austria6537107710109
Switzerland912917101928303039
Berlin3032242634457567
Munich661415121428333151
Cologne3137672962683574
Bonn209153721684848115119
Leipzig29273571466761163105212
Rostock58374397471336310531166
Norway12710311011312910411011199140
Sweden1171061081141231029489105109
Denmark9111118152025293030
Iceland8345
Spain213139394352565453
Catalonia474146527457997510487
Italy586671828284899187
Poland16151414964344
Hungary1414121413121111818
Slovenia40504157526763877074
Estonia1517202024
Croatia171619

England and Wales, 1996 to 2025

YearRankGirlsper 100,000 girls
202530314858.4
202425818872.9
202323319676.4
202220025596.8
2021180284103.6
2020178281104.7
2019176283101.1
2018169318110.3
2017145372124.4
2016150366119.2
2015145380123.4
2014160349113.8
2013146359116.4
2012140405125.8
2011134415129.2
2010125456142.0
2009117465148.4
2008120427135.2
2007106490160.1
2006101525175.4
200594571198.1
200481634221.8
200367766274.9
2002481,065398.3
2001371,329495.9
2000301,628596.0
1999291,846655.3
1998252,299795.0
1997172,9371,001.8
1996173,5821,210.1

Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.

France since 1925

Half of the babies named Laura in France since 1925 were born in or after 1994. First recorded in 1925. Her peak year there: 1988, at 2,442.3 per 100,000 girls.

01,2502,5001940196019802000202001,2502,50019602000

Babies named Laura per 100,000 girls born in France, by five-year period. Her 1988 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.

Sources: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (1900-2025), Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.

Sister names for Laura

  1. 1 in 754 in Ireland

  2. 1 in 729 in Northern Ireland

  3. 1 in 228 in Northern Ireland

  4. 1 in 95 in Northern Ireland

  5. 1 in 1,921 in Ireland

  6. 1 in 491 in Ireland

  7. 1 in 898 in England and Wales

  8. 1 in 3,578 in Scotland

  9. 1 in 4,225 in Ireland

  10. 1 in 271 in Ireland

All sister names for LauraDeal more sisters

Middle names for Laura

  1. 1 in 57 in Northern Ireland

  2. 1 in 71 in Scotland

  3. 1 in 99 in Scotland

  4. 1 in 311 in Ireland

  5. 1 in 214 in Northern Ireland

  6. 1 in 78 in Northern Ireland

  7. 1 in 491 in Ireland

  8. 1 in 1,286 in England and Wales

All middle names for LauraDeal more middle names

Same style as Laura

Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.

  1. 1 in 491 in Ireland

  2. 1 in 1,243 in Ireland

  3. 1 in 571 in Ireland

  4. 1 in 754 in Ireland

  5. 1 in 95 in Northern Ireland

  6. 1 in 852 in Scotland

  7. 1 in 3,578 in Scotland

  8. 1 in 1,193 in Scotland

Deal more in this style

Famous people named Laura

Laura Bush, Laura Pausini, Laura Chinchilla, Laura Dern, Laura Prepon, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Laura Linney and Laura Bassi.

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People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.

Questions about Laura

5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.

Show all 5 questionsShow less
How popular is Laura?

Her best rank is No. 4 in Poland in 2025, about 1 in 31 girls. She is in the published lists of 27 of our 40 regions.

What does Laura mean?

Wiktionary glosses Laura as "laurel tree".

How do you pronounce Laura?

LOR-uh, with 2 syllables.

Is Laura getting more popular?

Over five years: falling in 15 of 26 regions, rising in none.

Which sister names go with Laura?

The deck's top five sisters for Laura: Helena, Victoria, Eva, Anna and Joanna. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.

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