Alaura
Combination of names Laura (of Latin origin meaning "laurel plant") and Alana ("inestimable").
Name Census estimates that about 1,754 living Americans carry the first name Alaura. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alaura today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alaura births was 1989 (71 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alaura. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Alaura with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 195,413 Americans
Peak year
1989
71 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,792
Tracked since 1988
Census
Alaura in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,368 people with the first name Alaura, which placed it at #9,929 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#9,929
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,368 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alaura
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alaura is White at 62.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.8%) and Black (11.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Alaura described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Alaura at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.3% · 852
- Hispanic or Latino13.8% · 189
- Black or African American11.8% · 161
- Two or more races8.8% · 120
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 22
Popularity
Alaura: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alaura from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 546 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Alaura remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alaura by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Alaura during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alauras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Alaura, while Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alaura
The name Alaura is a relatively modern combination of two distinct names, Alara and Laura. Its origins can be traced back to the late 20th century, with its earliest known use dating back to the 1970s.
The first part of the name, Alara, is believed to have its roots in the Sanskrit language, where it means "beautiful" or "lovely." This name has been popular in India and other parts of South Asia for centuries. The name Laura, on the other hand, has its origins in the Latin word "laurus," which means "laurel."
While there are no known historical references or ancient texts that directly mention the name Alaura, its components have been present in various cultures for a long time. The name Laura has been widely used in many European countries, and it has been particularly popular in Italy and Spain.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Alaura can be found in the United States, where a few individuals were given this name in the late 1970s and early 1980s. However, it was not until the late 20th and early 21st centuries that the name gained more widespread popularity.
Throughout history, there have been a few notable individuals who have borne the name Alaura. One such person is Alaura Kaye Gray (born in 1983), an American singer-songwriter and musician. Another is Alaura Wheat (born in 1986), an American softball player who competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Additionally, Alaura Browder (born in 1990) is an American actress known for her role in the TV series "Glee." Alaura Zeppenfeldt (born in 1995) is a German ice hockey player who has represented her country at various international competitions.
Lastly, Alaura Tate (born in 1998) is an American gymnast who has won multiple national and international titles in her career.
It is worth noting that while the name Alaura has gained some popularity in recent decades, it is still relatively uncommon compared to more traditional names. Its unique blend of cultural influences and its melodic sound have contributed to its appeal among parents seeking a distinctive name for their child.
People
Alaura + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alaura as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Alaura: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alaura?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,754 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alaura going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 195,413 US residents.
Is Alaura a common name?
We classify Alaura as "Rare". It ranks above 93.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,785 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alaura most popular?
The single biggest year for Alaura was 1989, when 71 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alaura is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alaura in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,368 people with the name Alaura, or 0.45 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,929 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Alaura in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Alaura?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alaura appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,369 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Alaura?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alaura is White at 62.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.8%) and Black (11.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Alaura most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Alaura in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.3% (852 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Alaura in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alaura a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alaura in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Alaura still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alaura in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Alaura can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Alaura?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.