Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 2016

Lorelei

Meaning murmuring rock or lurking rock Gender Girl Rank 2025 #441 Trend → Stable

Borrowed from German Lorelei (“murmuring rock or lurking rock”), but not used as a given name in Germany.

Rank 2025
#441
among girls · ↑13 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
699
named Lorelei · +1% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,299
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2016
716 babies
All-time total
18,189
#1,134 all-time among girls
First recorded
1916
in Social Security records

Lorelei popularity over time

18,189 babies have been named Lorelei since 1916, 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
0.130.250.380.518801900192019401960198020002020Peak 2022Girls

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 Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – –
1890s – – – –
1900s – – – –
1910s 5 1 – #4,842
1920s 154 15 +2980% #1,004
1930s 354 35 +130% #619
1940s 587 59 +66% #800
1950s 1,269 127 +116% #700
1960s 1,020 102 -20% #971
1970s 633 63 -38% #1,399
1980s 429 43 -32% #1,926
1990s 375 38 -13% #2,719
2000s 2,919 292 +678% #597
2010s 6,407 641 +119% #450
2020s (to 2025) 4,037 673 +5% #441

Where Lorelei 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 708 0.44 #437
2027 715 0.45 #433
2028 722 0.45 #430
2029 727 0.45 #428
2030 732 0.46 #426

Where Lorelei is most popular

Girls named Lorelei per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.424 per 1,000. Strongest in Nebraska, West Virginia, and Missouri.

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 Lorelei 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
Nebraska 37 1.03 +143%
West Virginia 24 0.916 +116%
Missouri 110 0.913 +116%
Wisconsin 88 0.854 +102%
Iowa 49 0.839 +98%
Indiana 115 0.819 +93%
Tennessee 129 0.814 +92%
Oregon 51 0.783 +85%
Ohio 184 0.776 +83%
Kentucky 66 0.772 +82%
Oklahoma 55 0.747 +76%
Colorado 77 0.690 +63%
South Carolina 60 0.667 +58%
Arkansas 35 0.662 +56%
Virginia 112 0.657 +55%
Washington 94 0.651 +54%
Alabama 61 0.650 +53%
North Carolina 142 0.624 +47%
Illinois 142 0.620 +46%
New Mexico 15 0.617 +46%
Michigan 112 0.615 +45%
Pennsylvania 141 0.596 +41%
Minnesota 64 0.593 +40%
Kansas 32 0.555 +31%
Arizona 65 0.463 +9%
Louisiana 40 0.457 +8%
Florida 190 0.444 +5%
Georgia 100 0.440 ≈ national
Texas 338 0.420 ≈ national
Rhode Island 5 0.399 -6%
Idaho 13 0.389 -8%
New Jersey 66 0.366 -14%
Maryland 35 0.330 -22%
Nevada 14 0.301 -29%
New York 113 0.285 -33%
New Hampshire 5 0.271 -36%
Massachusetts 32 0.265 -38%
Connecticut 15 0.258 -39%
California 185 0.220 -48%
Utah 12 0.144 -66%
Mississippi 5 0.107 -75%
Alaska – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
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 Lorelei

Lorelei is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #441 in 2025 with 699 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1916, 18,189 American babies have been named Lorelei. Its peak came in 2016, when 716 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

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 Lorelei stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Lorelei?

The median living Lorelei is about 12 years old; half are between 6 and 22. An estimated 17 thousand people named Lorelei are alive in the United States today.

median 12 020406080100

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

Lorelei year by year

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

Year Girls Girls rank
2025 699 #441
2024 690 #454
2023 631 #485
2022 715 #442
2021 701 #447
2020 601 #504
2019 682 #456
2018 659 #472
2017 683 #462
2016 716 #451
2015 704 #450
2014 653 #482
2013 604 #497
2012 573 #529
2011 585 #503
2010 548 #535
2009 504 #597
2008 446 #681
2007 431 #683
2006 380 #736
2005 320 #810
2004 248 #967
2003 226 #1,021
2002 202 #1,058
2001 99 #1,803
2000 63 #2,447
1995 24 #4,297
1990 41 #2,832
1985 54 #2,010
1980 53 #1,995
1975 63 #1,581
1970 75 #1,399
1965 113 #971
1960 115 #1,004
1955 143 #810
1950 81 #1,016
1945 48 #1,136
1940 58 #951
1935 15 #2,162
1930 27 #1,515
1925 7 #4,251
1920 5 #5,426
1915 – –
1910 – –
1905 – –
1900 – –
1895 – –
1890 – –
1885 – –
1880 – –

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Lorelei?

The median living Lorelei is about 12 years old. Half of all living Loreleis are between 6 and 22 years old.

How many people named Lorelei are alive today?

An estimated 17 thousand people named Lorelei are alive in the United States, based on 18,189 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Lorelei mean?

Borrowed from German Lorelei (“murmuring rock or lurking rock”), but not used as a given name in Germany.

How popular is the name Lorelei in 2025?

Lorelei ranked #441 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 699 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Lorelei?

18,189 babies have been named Lorelei in the United States since 1916, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Lorelei most popular?

Lorelei peaked in 2016, when 716 newborns received the name.

Is Lorelei a boy or girl name?

Lorelei is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Lorelei rising or falling?

Lorelei has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Lorelei become more popular?

Lorelei looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 732 girls named Lorelei in 2030, ranking around #426. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Names like Lorelei

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

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