girls' name ★ peaked 1956

Laurel

Gender Girl · 4% boys Rank 2025 #734 Trend → Stable

A female or male given name from English from the laurel plant.

Rank 2025
#734
among girls · ↓5 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
372
named Laurel · -4% vs 2024
How common
1 in 4,321
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1956
1,197 babies
All-time total
48,973
#612 all-time among girls
First recorded
1883
in Social Security records

Laurel popularity over time

48,973 babies have been named Laurel since 1883, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 42 10 52 5 – #571
1890s 98 16 114 11 +119% #768
1900s 108 34 142 14 +25% #869
1910s 366 286 652 65 +359% #889
1920s 1,437 521 1,958 196 +200% #467
1930s 1,525 350 1,875 188 -4% #339
1940s 4,890 255 5,145 515 +174% #277
1950s 9,439 164 9,603 960 +87% #241
1960s 6,366 103 6,469 647 -33% #317
1970s 4,065 44 4,109 411 -36% #382
1980s 4,901 57 4,958 496 +21% #402
1990s 4,365 14 4,379 438 -12% #509
2000s 3,445 – 3,445 345 -21% #564
2010s 3,618 – 3,618 362 +5% #598
2020s (to 2025) 2,448 6 2,454 409 +13% #638

Where Laurel is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 366 0.23 outside top 500
2027 362 0.22 outside top 500
2028 357 0.22 outside top 500
2029 354 0.22 outside top 500
2030 351 0.22 outside top 500

Where Laurel is most popular

Girls named Laurel per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.251 per 1,000. Strongest in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Laurel born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
West Virginia 26 0.992 +296%
Pennsylvania 166 0.702 +180%
Tennessee 104 0.656 +162%
Alabama 51 0.543 +117%
Kentucky 45 0.526 +110%
Virginia 89 0.522 +108%
Oregon 33 0.507 +102%
Wisconsin 50 0.485 +94%
North Carolina 96 0.422 +68%
Colorado 47 0.421 +68%
Indiana 52 0.370 +48%
South Carolina 33 0.367 +46%
Louisiana 31 0.354 +41%
Georgia 75 0.330 +32%
Iowa 19 0.325 +30%
Missouri 39 0.324 +29%
Washington 46 0.318 +27%
Ohio 73 0.308 +23%
Nebraska 11 0.306 +22%
New Hampshire 5 0.271 +8%
Michigan 48 0.264 +5%
Mississippi 12 0.257 ≈ national
Texas 199 0.247 ≈ national
Kansas 13 0.225 -10%
Connecticut 13 0.223 -11%
Massachusetts 27 0.223 -11%
Minnesota 24 0.222 -11%
Oklahoma 16 0.217 -13%
Florida 78 0.182 -27%
Maryland 18 0.170 -32%
California 140 0.167 -34%
Illinois 37 0.162 -36%
New York 60 0.152 -40%
New Jersey 26 0.144 -43%
Utah 10 0.120 -52%
Arizona 5 0.036 -86%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Laurel

Laurel is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #734 in 2025 with 372 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1883, 48,973 American babies have been named Laurel. Its peak came in 1956, when 1,197 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1950s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Laurel stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Laurel?

The median living Laurel is about 50 years old; half are between 27 and 68. An estimated 40 thousand people named Laurel are alive in the United States today.

median 50 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Laurel year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 372 #734 – –
2024 387 #729 – –
2023 394 #716 – –
2022 415 #711 6 #11,711
2021 465 #638 – –
2020 415 #686 – –
2019 388 #728 – –
2018 484 #622 – –
2017 504 #598 – –
2016 459 #643 – –
2015 369 #768 – –
2014 340 #816 – –
2013 297 #870 – –
2012 262 #970 – –
2011 282 #923 – –
2010 233 #1,067 – –
2009 241 #1,061 – –
2008 272 #982 – –
2007 288 #939 – –
2006 316 #850 – –
2005 332 #783 – –
2004 355 #740 – –
2003 404 #656 – –
2002 375 #674 – –
2001 399 #628 – –
2000 463 #564 – –
1995 407 #567 – –
1990 447 #532 – –
1985 561 #402 8 #4,972
1980 477 #449 11 #3,752
1975 313 #549 – –
1970 622 #382 6 #4,519
1965 524 #405 8 #3,129
1960 790 #333 16 #2,086
1955 982 #276 24 #1,590
1950 758 #282 16 #1,920
1945 530 #298 24 #1,364
1940 287 #406 35 #1,117
1935 102 #650 30 #1,239
1930 139 #581 33 #1,245
1925 135 #632 39 #1,135
1920 68 #883 55 #935
1915 41 #1,047 40 #1,007
1910 12 #1,384 6 #1,513
1905 8 #1,481 6 #1,172
1900 10 #1,272 – –
1895 5 #1,719 5 #1,175
1890 7 #1,153 – –
1885 5 #1,122 – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Laurel

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Laurel Clark Laurel Clark American astronaut (1961–2003) Contemporary
  2. 2 Laurel Holloman American painter and actress b. 1971 · Contemporary
  3. 3 Laurel Aitken Laurel Aitken Cuban-Jamaican musician (1927–2005) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Laurel, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Laurel?

The median living Laurel is about 50 years old. Half of all living Laurels are between 27 and 68 years old.

How many people named Laurel are alive today?

An estimated 40 thousand people named Laurel are alive in the United States, based on 48,973 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Laurel mean?

A female or male given name from English from the laurel plant.

How popular is the name Laurel in 2025?

Laurel ranked #734 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 372 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Laurel?

48,973 babies have been named Laurel in the United States since 1883, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Laurel most popular?

Laurel peaked in 1956, when 1,197 newborns received the name.

Is Laurel a boy or girl name?

Laurel is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 96% of babies with the name.

Is the name Laurel rising or falling?

Laurel is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Laurel become more popular?

Laurel looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 351 girls named Laurel in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Laurel?

Well-known people named Laurel include Laurel Clark (astronaut), Laurel Holloman (painter), Laurel Aitken (singer).

Names like Laurel

Names that sound and feel close to Laurel: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Laurel with similar names → More names starting with L →