Laurel
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Meaning
“'laurel tree', from Latin laurus”
The story
Laurel comes from the name of the laurel tree, ultimately from the Latin laurus, and Behind the Name leaves the botany to speak for itself. The American record gives it a long working life: about 98 girls in the 1890s, about 1,440 in the 1920s, about 4,890 in the 1940s and about 9,440 in the 1950s, and then a remarkable steadiness: every completed decade since the 1940s has stayed above three thousand, with about 3,620 in the 2010s and about 2,450 so far this decade. A boys' line ran alongside early, a few hundred a decade into the midcentury. A tree on the label with no legend required, a record that never needed a revival, and eight straight decades of quiet, unbroken, working use.
Laurel across languages
One shared root links 8 names across 3 languages.
Shared root: from Latin laurus "laurel", the victor's crown; Laura is its medieval feminine
The constellation
More branches
How popular is Laurel around the world?
In the United States, 2,454 babies were named Laurel between 2020 and 2025.
Laurel is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Canada, England and Wales, Austria and Brazil.
United States
1 in 8,900
In the United States, 2,454 babies were named Laurel between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Laurel peaked in the 1950s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 9,2002017
In South Australia, 2 girls were registered as Laurel in 2017.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 14,000
In Canada, 26 girls named Laurel were born in 2024, ranked 1,023rd among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 34,000
In England and Wales, 17 girls named Laurel were born in 2025, ranked 1,719th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 boy named Laurel was born in 2025, ranked 1,842nd among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 29 people in Brazil were named Laurel, ranked 96,655th, with a median age of 39.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Mexico City City
last on record 2016
Laurel is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
New Zealand
last on record 1959
Laurel is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
last on record 2019
Laurel is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Spain, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Ireland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Laurel
People given the name Laurel in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 2009. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Laurel deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Laurel truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Laurel fits with your family’s names and surname.
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