Lauri
A feminine Finnish given name derived from the laurel tree.
Name Census estimates that about 9,071 living Americans carry the first name Lauri. It is a predominantly female name (98.4% of registrations). The average person named Lauri today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lauri births was 1961 (718 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lauri. 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
- • Although Lauri is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 183 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
9.1K
~ 1 in 37,786 Americans
Peak year
1961
718 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
1959 SSA rank
#3,448
Tracked since 1912
Gender
Gender distribution for Lauri
Lauri leans heavily female at 98.4% of total registrations, but 183 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Lauri as a male name
- Ranked #3,448 in 1959
- 7 male births in 1959
- Peak: 1920 (15 births)
Lauri as a female name
- Ranked #12,990 in 2022
- 7 female births in 2022
- Peak: 1961 (718 births)
Popularity
Lauri: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lauri from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 5,561 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lauri 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 Lauri during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lauris live
The SSA's state-level files cover 47 states and territories. California, New York, Michigan recorded the most babies named Lauri, while Wyoming, Mississippi, Hawaii recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 189 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lauri
The name Lauri has its origins in the Finnish language and is derived from the Latin name Laurentius, which in turn comes from the Roman family name Laurentius. Laurentius is derived from the Latin word "laurus," meaning "laurel," a type of evergreen plant that was used to make wreaths for crowning victors and poets in ancient Rome.
The name Laurentius was borne by several early Christian saints and martyrs, including Saint Laurentius, a deacon who was martyred in Rome during the persecution of Christians under the Roman emperor Valerian in the 3rd century AD. The popularity of the name Laurentius and its various forms, such as Lauri, spread throughout Europe as Christianity became more widespread.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Lauri can be found in the Finnish epic poem "Kalevala," which was compiled in the 19th century but contains stories and traditions that date back to ancient times. In the poem, Lauri is mentioned as a heroic figure who played a significant role in the narrative.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Lauri. Lauri-Pekka Letonmäki (1936-2017) was a Finnish long-distance runner who won gold medals in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters events at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Lauri Kristian Relander (1883-1942) was a Finnish politician who served as the second President of Finland from 1925 to 1931.
Lauri Törni (1919-1965), also known as Larry Thorne, was a Finnish soldier who fought in World War II and later became a highly decorated officer in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. Lauri Rapala (1905-1974) was a Finnish inventor and businessman who created the popular Rapala fishing lure, which has become a global brand.
Another notable figure with the name Lauri was Lauri-Pekka Siikanen (1952-2006), a Finnish ice hockey player who played for several teams in the Finnish SM-liiga and represented Finland in international competitions, including the 1976 and 1984 Winter Olympics.
People
Lauri + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lauri 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
Lauri: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lauri?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9,071 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lauri 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 37,786 US residents.
Is Lauri a common name?
We classify Lauri as "Rare". It ranks above 97.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11,239 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lauri most popular?
The single biggest year for Lauri was 1961, when 718 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lauri is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lauri a female name?
Yes, 98.4% of people registered as Lauri 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.