Lorelei
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Meaning
from the Rhine rock and legendary siren, traditionally "murmuring rock"
The story
Lorelei is the siren of the Rhine, the murmuring rock where the legend says a golden-haired singer pulled sailors off their course, and its American record has two distinct lives. The first crested at about 1,270 in the 1950s, the decade a diamond-loving showgirl named Lorelei Lee sang her way through the era's most famous musical; the record shows the timing, and timing is all a record can show. Then the long quiet, down to about 380 in the 1990s, and the second life: about 2,900 in the 2000s, cresting at 6,400 in the 2010s, with 4,000 so far this decade. It goes to girls without exception: about 18,200 to none. Lorelai, the television spelling, carries its own story here at about 10,300. One legend, two spellings, two American lives: the rock keeps murmuring.
How popular is Lorelei around the world?
In the United States, 4,037 babies were named Lorelei between 2020 and 2025.
Lorelei is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Canada, England and Wales, Mexico City, France, Brazil and Spain.
United States
1 in 5,400
In the United States, 4,037 babies were named Lorelei between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Lorelei peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure. In US birth records Lorelei has stayed between 375 and 6,407 births in every decade since the 1950s: a name everyone knows and few children get.
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 Lorelei in 2017.
The count never rose above 3 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 19,000
In Canada, 19 girls named Lorelei were born in 2024, ranked 1,286th 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 21,000
In England and Wales, 28 girls named Lorelei were born in 2025, ranked 1,166th 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
Mexico City City
1 in 120,000
In Mexico City, there was 1 registration of Lorelei in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
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
France
1 in 130,000
In France, about 5 girls named Lorelei were born in 2025, ranked 4,292nd among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Lorelei, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 102 people in Brazil were named Lorelei, ranked 40,709th, with a median age of 56.
Among people named Lorelei living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
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
Spain
1 in 1.3M
In Spain, 34 residents are named Lorelei, ranked 19,742nd among women, with a mean age of 31.9 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Argentina
last on record 2020
Lorelei is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Austria
last on record 2024
Lorelei is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 5 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)
Ireland
last on record 2018
Lorelei is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Montevideo City
last on record 1962
Lorelei is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Scotland
last on record 2022
Lorelei is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 5 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 Puerto Rico, New Zealand 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 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 Lorelei
Most people given the name Lorelei in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Lorelei · Romantic names · Familiar but never popular
The Lorelei deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Lorelei 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 Lorelei fits with your family’s names and surname.
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