Laura

Where Laura comes from

From Late Latin saint's name Laura, from the feminine form of laurus (“laurel tree”). A post-classical name made famous by Petrarch's sonnets to Laura in the fourteenth century.
— Wiktionary's entry for Laura
  • Latin
  • 2 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #17 among girls — 1,012 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1946
    Laura Bush born
    First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009
  3. 1959
    Laura Chinchilla born
    46th President of Costa Rica
  4. 1969
    Peak, #10
    17,922 babies named Laura — more than any year before or since.
  5. 1969
    The comeback
    Back to #10 after sinking to #119 in 1944.
In the dictionary
  • A female given name from Latin.
Namesakes
  • Laura Bush · First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009, born 1946
  • Laura Chinchilla · 46th President of Costa Rica, born 1959
  • Laura Pausini · Italian singer, born 1974
  • Laura Dern · American actress and producer, born 1967
  • Laura Prepon · American actress and director, born 1980

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.