Lorna
Lorna was given to 56 girls in 2025, #2,980 among girls’ names; 28,557 Americans have been recorded with it since 1885 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 16,800 Americans named Lorna and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (59% of everyone recorded); the median is 67 years old and half are between 57 and 74.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Lorna by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Lorna mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Lorna is “a female given name from Scottish Gaelic of mostly Scottish usage.”
Coined by English novelist R. D. Blackmore in 1869 for his novel Lorna Doone, possibly from the Scottish place name Lorn(e) in Argyll.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Lorna?
#2,980 among girls’ names, 2025
Lorna rose from #4,115 in 2015 to #2,980 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 20.2 to 34.8 per million.
758 babies in 1957, the peak
Lorna peaked in 1957, when 758 girls were given it, #332 among girls’ names. The 56 births of 2025 are 7% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 56 | #2,980 | 0.03 |
| 2024 | 50 | #3,205 | 0.03 |
| 2023 | 42 | #3,685 | 0.03 |
| 2022 | 40 | #3,800 | 0.02 |
| 2021 | 36 | #4,055 | 0.02 |
| 2020 | 53 | #3,048 | 0.03 |
| 2019 | 45 | #3,484 | 0.03 |
| 2018 | 37 | #3,975 | 0.02 |
| 2017 | 31 | #4,541 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 28 | #4,928 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (138)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 36 | #4,115 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 34 | #4,320 | 0.02 |
| 2013 | 39 | #3,887 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 47 | #3,444 | 0.03 |
| 2011 | 28 | #4,995 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 33 | #4,458 | 0.02 |
| 2009 | 38 | #4,064 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 46 | #3,559 | 0.02 |
| 2007 | 51 | #3,312 | 0.03 |
| 2006 | 67 | #2,691 | 0.04 |
| 2005 | 69 | #2,511 | 0.04 |
| 2004 | 66 | #2,540 | 0.04 |
| 2003 | 81 | #2,155 | 0.04 |
| 2002 | 64 | #2,482 | 0.04 |
| 2001 | 80 | #2,081 | 0.04 |
| 2000 | 69 | #2,263 | 0.04 |
| 1999 | 78 | #2,007 | 0.04 |
| 1998 | 62 | #2,297 | 0.04 |
| 1997 | 62 | #2,214 | 0.04 |
| 1996 | 87 | #1,730 | 0.05 |
| 1995 | 70 | #1,960 | 0.04 |
| 1994 | 79 | #1,815 | 0.04 |
| 1993 | 92 | #1,647 | 0.05 |
| 1992 | 77 | #1,846 | 0.04 |
| 1991 | 72 | #1,942 | 0.04 |
| 1990 | 68 | #1,999 | 0.04 |
| 1989 | 82 | #1,676 | 0.04 |
| 1988 | 77 | #1,679 | 0.04 |
| 1987 | 80 | #1,576 | 0.05 |
| 1986 | 116 | #1,206 | 0.07 |
| 1985 | 112 | #1,229 | 0.07 |
| 1984 | 108 | #1,212 | 0.06 |
| 1983 | 91 | #1,323 | 0.05 |
| 1982 | 76 | #1,560 | 0.04 |
| 1981 | 93 | #1,347 | 0.06 |
| 1980 | 84 | #1,451 | 0.05 |
| 1979 | 80 | #1,492 | 0.05 |
| 1978 | 97 | #1,270 | 0.06 |
| 1977 | 99 | #1,230 | 0.06 |
| 1976 | 104 | #1,137 | 0.07 |
| 1975 | 133 | #949 | 0.09 |
| 1974 | 144 | #893 | 0.10 |
| 1973 | 125 | #961 | 0.09 |
| 1972 | 173 | #793 | 0.11 |
| 1971 | 207 | #730 | 0.12 |
| 1970 | 234 | #680 | 0.13 |
| 1969 | 295 | #574 | 0.17 |
| 1968 | 280 | #573 | 0.17 |
| 1967 | 368 | #498 | 0.22 |
| 1966 | 360 | #494 | 0.21 |
| 1965 | 510 | #413 | 0.29 |
| 1964 | 524 | #429 | 0.28 |
| 1963 | 484 | #441 | 0.25 |
| 1962 | 561 | #412 | 0.29 |
| 1961 | 592 | #398 | 0.29 |
| 1960 | 678 | #369 | 0.34 |
| 1959 | 691 | #361 | 0.34 |
| 1958 | 688 | #349 | 0.34 |
| 1957 | 758 | #332 | 0.37 |
| 1956 | 705 | #328 | 0.35 |
| 1955 | 740 | #317 | 0.38 |
| 1954 | 707 | #317 | 0.36 |
| 1953 | 721 | #307 | 0.38 |
| 1952 | 662 | #314 | 0.36 |
| 1951 | 514 | #352 | 0.29 |
| 1950 | 463 | #372 | 0.27 |
| 1949 | 440 | #375 | 0.26 |
| 1948 | 432 | #382 | 0.25 |
| 1947 | 475 | #368 | 0.27 |
| 1946 | 426 | #366 | 0.27 |
| 1945 | 428 | #332 | 0.33 |
| 1944 | 388 | #350 | 0.29 |
| 1943 | 441 | #337 | 0.32 |
| 1942 | 518 | #302 | 0.38 |
| 1941 | 464 | #298 | 0.38 |
| 1940 | 416 | #312 | 0.36 |
| 1939 | 368 | #325 | 0.34 |
| 1938 | 330 | #358 | 0.30 |
| 1937 | 313 | #366 | 0.29 |
| 1936 | 290 | #372 | 0.28 |
| 1935 | 329 | #353 | 0.31 |
| 1934 | 309 | #359 | 0.30 |
| 1933 | 324 | #348 | 0.32 |
| 1932 | 386 | #324 | 0.36 |
| 1931 | 390 | #323 | 0.37 |
| 1930 | 328 | #374 | 0.29 |
| 1929 | 296 | #392 | 0.27 |
| 1928 | 348 | #368 | 0.30 |
| 1927 | 320 | #383 | 0.27 |
| 1926 | 295 | #399 | 0.25 |
| 1925 | 334 | #376 | 0.27 |
| 1924 | 304 | #394 | 0.24 |
| 1923 | 364 | #346 | 0.30 |
| 1922 | 249 | #421 | 0.21 |
| 1921 | 277 | #407 | 0.22 |
| 1920 | 234 | #437 | 0.20 |
| 1919 | 222 | #442 | 0.20 |
| 1918 | 218 | #454 | 0.19 |
| 1917 | 211 | #441 | 0.20 |
| 1916 | 218 | #426 | 0.21 |
| 1915 | 204 | #426 | 0.21 |
| 1914 | 135 | #472 | 0.18 |
| 1913 | 109 | #488 | 0.17 |
| 1912 | 104 | #468 | 0.19 |
| 1911 | 85 | #441 | 0.20 |
| 1910 | 51 | #580 | 0.13 |
| 1909 | 51 | #533 | 0.15 |
| 1908 | 41 | #586 | 0.12 |
| 1907 | 41 | #576 | 0.13 |
| 1906 | 38 | #574 | 0.13 |
| 1905 | 31 | #635 | 0.11 |
| 1904 | 38 | #541 | 0.14 |
| 1903 | 31 | #593 | 0.12 |
| 1902 | 26 | #662 | 0.10 |
| 1901 | 26 | #623 | 0.11 |
| 1900 | 30 | #650 | 0.10 |
| 1899 | 21 | #692 | 0.09 |
| 1898 | 28 | #614 | 0.11 |
| 1897 | 24 | #637 | 0.10 |
| 1896 | 20 | #719 | 0.08 |
| 1895 | 19 | #734 | 0.08 |
| 1894 | 14 | #830 | 0.06 |
| 1893 | 17 | #730 | 0.08 |
| 1892 | 12 | #883 | 0.06 |
| 1891 | 8 | #1,058 | 0.04 |
| 1889 | 5 | #1,399 | 0.03 |
| 1888 | 6 | #1,223 | 0.03 |
| 1885 | 6 | #998 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Lorna a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Lorna has been given almost only to girls: 22 boys in 138 years of records.
Girls and boys named Lorna: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Lorna, and how old are they?
16,800 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 59% of the 28,557 Americans ever recorded as Lorna. The median Lorna alive today is 67 years old; half are between 57 and 74.
The 2020 Census counted 26,130 people named Lorna (26,105 women and girls, 25 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 18,709 born in the U.S. The Census count is 40% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,100 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 8,820 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 3,020 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,340 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 930 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 524 |
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 Lorna born?
The states with the most babies named Lorna are California, New York and Michigan, with 28% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 3,019 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| New York | 1,796 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Michigan | 1,507 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 1,272 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 1,180 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Minnesota | 1,081 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 1,046 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Wisconsin | 972 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Massachusetts | 946 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Iowa | 932 | not ranked | 1.9× |
Where Lorna is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Lorna is most over-represented in Hawaii: since 1910 it was given 4.7 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 Lorna 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 8 names spelled alike, given to 124,982 babies since 1880, Lorna is the third most given (23% of them). In 2025 it was given to 56 of their 267 babies (21%), the second most given that year.
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 Lorna
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 Lorna and names like it
- Compare Lorna and LorenaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sLorna peaked in 1957.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Lorna since 1910.
- Scottish Gaelic namesWiktionary’s origin for Lorna: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1957The year the most babies were named Lorna.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Lorna alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with LMost given first.