Laraine
A feminine name of French origin meaning "she leaves the branch".
Name Census estimates that about 1,958 living Americans carry the first name Laraine. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Laraine today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Laraine births was 1947 (268 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Laraine. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Laraine is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Laraines were born before 1968.
People living today
2.0K
~ 1 in 175,053 Americans
Peak year
1947
268 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,424
Tracked since 1913
Popularity
Laraine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Laraine from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 1,534 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Laraine 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 Laraine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Laraines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Laraine, while Washington, Maryland, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 115 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Laraine
The name Laraine is a French feminine given name derived from the Latin name Laurentius, meaning "from Laurentum" or "from Laurentian territory". Laurentum was an ancient city-state located in the region of Latium, near modern-day Rome. The name Laurentius was derived from the Latin word "laurus", meaning laurel tree.
In ancient Roman culture, laurel wreaths were awarded to victors, poets, and military leaders as symbols of honor and achievement. As a result, the name Laurentius and its variants became associated with victory, honor, and poetic expression.
The name Laraine emerged as a French variant of the Latin Laurentius during the Middle Ages. It was particularly popular in regions of modern-day France, where it was sometimes spelled as "Lauraine" or "Lorraine".
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Laraine can be found in the 12th-century French epic poem "The Song of Roland". In this literary work, a character named Laraine is mentioned as a noblewoman from the region of Lorraine.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Laraine. One of the most famous was Laraine Day (1920-2007), an American actress and filmmaker who starred in numerous films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Another well-known Laraine was Laraine Newman (born 1952), an American comedian and actress best known for her work on the sketch comedy show "Saturday Night Live".
Other notable individuals with the name Laraine include Laraine Herring (born 1938), an American writer and teacher known for her works on personal growth and spirituality, and Laraine Weller (born 1972), a Canadian actress and singer best known for her role in the television series "Rent-a-Goalie".
In the literary world, Laraine Hutchins (1921-2006) was an American author and editor who specialized in children's literature. Her book "The Huge Bag of Worries" became a popular title for helping children understand and cope with anxiety.
People
Laraine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Laraine as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Laraine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Laraine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,958 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Laraine 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 175,053 US residents.
Is Laraine a common name?
We classify Laraine as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,478 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Laraine most popular?
The single biggest year for Laraine was 1947, when 268 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Laraine is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Laraine a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Laraine 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.
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.