Laurel
Laurel was given to 372 girls in 2025, #734 among girls’ names; 48,973 Americans have been recorded with it since 1883 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 39,000 Americans named Laurel and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (80% of everyone recorded); the median is 49 years old and half are between 27 and 68.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Laurel by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Laurel mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Laurel is “a female or male given name from English from the laurel plant.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Laurel?
#734 among girls’ names, 2025
Laurel rose from #768 in 2015 to #734 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.21 to 0.23 per 1,000.
1,197 babies in 1956, the peak
Laurel peaked in 1956, when 1,197 babies were given it (1,181 girls, #241 among girls’ names). The 372 births of 2025 are 31% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 372 | #734 | 0.23 |
| 2024 | 387 | #729 | 0.24 |
| 2023 | 394 | #716 | 0.25 |
| 2022 | 415 | #711 | 0.25 |
| 2021 | 465 | #638 | 0.28 |
| 2020 | 415 | #686 | 0.26 |
| 2019 | 388 | #728 | 0.23 |
| 2018 | 484 | #622 | 0.28 |
| 2017 | 504 | #598 | 0.29 |
| 2016 | 459 | #643 | 0.26 |
Every recorded year (141)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 369 | #768 | 0.21 |
| 2014 | 340 | #816 | 0.19 |
| 2013 | 297 | #870 | 0.17 |
| 2012 | 262 | #970 | 0.15 |
| 2011 | 282 | #923 | 0.16 |
| 2010 | 233 | #1,067 | 0.13 |
| 2009 | 241 | #1,061 | 0.13 |
| 2008 | 272 | #982 | 0.14 |
| 2007 | 288 | #939 | 0.15 |
| 2006 | 316 | #850 | 0.17 |
| 2005 | 332 | #783 | 0.18 |
| 2004 | 355 | #740 | 0.19 |
| 2003 | 404 | #656 | 0.22 |
| 2002 | 375 | #674 | 0.21 |
| 2001 | 399 | #628 | 0.22 |
| 2000 | 463 | #564 | 0.25 |
| 1999 | 444 | #566 | 0.25 |
| 1998 | 497 | #509 | 0.28 |
| 1997 | 474 | #510 | 0.27 |
| 1996 | 376 | #608 | 0.21 |
| 1995 | 407 | #567 | 0.23 |
| 1994 | 488 | #510 | 0.27 |
| 1993 | 426 | #561 | 0.24 |
| 1992 | 374 | #609 | 0.20 |
| 1991 | 432 | #543 | 0.23 |
| 1990 | 447 | #531 | 0.24 |
| 1989 | 526 | #461 | 0.29 |
| 1988 | 493 | #455 | 0.28 |
| 1987 | 447 | #482 | 0.26 |
| 1986 | 482 | #449 | 0.28 |
| 1985 | 561 | #402 | 0.33 |
| 1984 | 491 | #428 | 0.29 |
| 1983 | 436 | #464 | 0.26 |
| 1982 | 507 | #431 | 0.30 |
| 1981 | 481 | #446 | 0.29 |
| 1980 | 477 | #449 | 0.29 |
| 1979 | 431 | #467 | 0.27 |
| 1978 | 313 | #558 | 0.20 |
| 1977 | 337 | #537 | 0.22 |
| 1976 | 330 | #531 | 0.23 |
| 1975 | 313 | #549 | 0.21 |
| 1974 | 343 | #507 | 0.23 |
| 1973 | 416 | #449 | 0.29 |
| 1972 | 466 | #416 | 0.31 |
| 1971 | 494 | #424 | 0.30 |
| 1970 | 622 | #382 | 0.36 |
| 1969 | 631 | #370 | 0.37 |
| 1968 | 753 | #317 | 0.46 |
| 1967 | 506 | #415 | 0.31 |
| 1966 | 444 | #444 | 0.26 |
| 1965 | 524 | #405 | 0.30 |
| 1964 | 544 | #416 | 0.29 |
| 1963 | 717 | #355 | 0.37 |
| 1962 | 700 | #358 | 0.36 |
| 1961 | 757 | #345 | 0.38 |
| 1960 | 790 | #333 | 0.39 |
| 1959 | 874 | #312 | 0.43 |
| 1958 | 965 | #287 | 0.48 |
| 1957 | 1,123 | #255 | 0.55 |
| 1956 | 1,181 | #241 | 0.59 |
| 1955 | 982 | #276 | 0.50 |
| 1954 | 879 | #286 | 0.45 |
| 1953 | 938 | #267 | 0.50 |
| 1952 | 888 | #269 | 0.48 |
| 1951 | 851 | #269 | 0.47 |
| 1950 | 758 | #282 | 0.44 |
| 1949 | 694 | #293 | 0.41 |
| 1948 | 687 | #292 | 0.40 |
| 1947 | 775 | #277 | 0.44 |
| 1946 | 678 | #283 | 0.43 |
| 1945 | 530 | #298 | 0.41 |
| 1944 | 349 | #378 | 0.26 |
| 1943 | 299 | #425 | 0.21 |
| 1942 | 294 | #418 | 0.22 |
| 1941 | 297 | #400 | 0.25 |
| 1940 | 287 | #406 | 0.25 |
| 1939 | 352 | #339 | 0.32 |
| 1938 | 281 | #398 | 0.25 |
| 1937 | 127 | #597 | 0.12 |
| 1936 | 80 | #753 | 0.08 |
| 1935 | 102 | #650 | 0.10 |
| 1934 | 96 | #684 | 0.09 |
| 1933 | 102 | #652 | 0.10 |
| 1932 | 119 | #604 | 0.11 |
| 1931 | 127 | #588 | 0.12 |
| 1930 | 139 | #581 | 0.12 |
| 1929 | 146 | #568 | 0.13 |
| 1928 | 165 | #541 | 0.14 |
| 1927 | 223 | #467 | 0.19 |
| 1926 | 169 | #537 | 0.14 |
| 1925 | 135 | #632 | 0.11 |
| 1924 | 177 | #546 | 0.14 |
| 1923 | 202 | #486 | 0.17 |
| 1922 | 89 | #774 | 0.07 |
| 1921 | 63 | #939 | 0.05 |
| 1920 | 68 | #883 | 0.06 |
| 1919 | 53 | #991 | 0.05 |
| 1918 | 65 | #889 | 0.06 |
| 1917 | 55 | #939 | 0.05 |
| 1916 | 37 | #1,178 | 0.04 |
| 1915 | 41 | #1,047 | 0.04 |
| 1914 | 33 | #1,050 | 0.04 |
| 1913 | 30 | #991 | 0.05 |
| 1912 | 23 | #1,094 | 0.04 |
| 1911 | 17 | #1,091 | 0.04 |
| 1910 | 12 | #1,384 | 0.03 |
| 1909 | 18 | #981 | 0.05 |
| 1908 | 16 | #1,027 | 0.05 |
| 1907 | 8 | #1,573 | 0.03 |
| 1906 | 7 | #1,642 | 0.02 |
| 1905 | 8 | #1,480 | 0.03 |
| 1904 | 16 | #924 | 0.06 |
| 1902 | 10 | #1,173 | 0.04 |
| 1901 | 15 | #869 | 0.06 |
| 1900 | 10 | #1,271 | 0.03 |
| 1899 | 11 | #1,007 | 0.05 |
| 1898 | 14 | #943 | 0.05 |
| 1897 | 9 | #1,122 | 0.04 |
| 1896 | 6 | #1,496 | 0.03 |
| 1895 | 5 | #1,719 | 0.02 |
| 1894 | 16 | #768 | 0.07 |
| 1893 | 9 | #1,052 | 0.04 |
| 1892 | 11 | #940 | 0.05 |
| 1891 | 10 | #924 | 0.05 |
| 1890 | 7 | #1,153 | 0.04 |
| 1889 | 6 | #1,208 | 0.03 |
| 1887 | 6 | #1,093 | 0.04 |
| 1886 | 7 | #947 | 0.05 |
| 1885 | 5 | #1,122 | 0.04 |
| 1884 | 6 | #977 | 0.05 |
| 1883 | 12 | #571 | 0.11 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Laurel a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 48,973 Americans recorded as Laurel, 96% are girls and 4% boys. In 2025 it went to 372 girls; SSA lists no boys with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Laurel: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Laurel, and how old are they?
39,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 80% of the 48,973 Americans ever recorded as Laurel. The median Laurel alive today is 49 years old; half are between 27 and 68.
The 2020 Census counted 40,185 people named Laurel (39,471 women and girls, 714 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 38,885 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,560 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 12,400 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 6,930 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 7,220 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 5,570 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 5,260 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Laurel born?
The states with the most babies named Laurel are California, New York and Illinois, with 27% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 5,641 | #989 | 1.2× |
| New York | 3,216 | #1,124 | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 2,695 | #1,337 | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 2,353 | #927 | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 2,297 | #308 | 0.9× |
| Texas | 2,094 | #908 | 0.6× |
| Michigan | 2,037 | #664 | 1.0× |
| Minnesota | 1,717 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Massachusetts | 1,638 | #661 | 1.2× |
| Washington | 1,619 | #989 | 1.9× |
Where Laurel is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Laurel is most over-represented in Washington: since 1910 it was given 1.9 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Laurel with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 5 names spelled alike, given to 50,809 babies since 1880, Laurel is the most given (96% of them). In 2025 it was given to 372 of their 372 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Laurel
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Laurel and names like it
- Compare Laurel and LauralBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sLaurel peaked in 1956.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Laurel since 1910.
- English namesWiktionary’s origin for Laurel: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1956The year the most babies were named Laurel.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Laurel alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with LMost given first.