Lavette
A feminine diminutive form of the French name Laure, meaning "laurel tree".
Name Census estimates that about 1,036 living Americans carry the first name Lavette. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lavette today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lavette births was 1967 (67 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lavette. 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.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 330,844 Americans
Peak year
1967
67 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
1911 SSA rank
#1,888
Tracked since 1911
Gender
Gender distribution for Lavette
Out of the 1,190 babies given the name Lavette since 1880, 99.6% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Lavette as a male name
- Ranked #1,888 in 1911
- 5 male births in 1911
- Peak: 1911 (5 births)
Lavette as a female name
- Ranked #15,408 in 2016
- 6 female births in 2016
- Peak: 1967 (67 births)
Popularity
Lavette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lavette from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 409 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
Lavette 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 Lavette during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lavettes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Illinois, New York recorded the most babies named Lavette, while Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lavette
The name Lavette is derived from the French word "laver," which means "to wash" or "to clean." It is believed to have originated in the Middle Ages, around the 12th to 15th centuries, primarily in France and parts of Europe where French was spoken.
Historically, the name Lavette was often associated with individuals who worked as launderers, washerwomen, or in professions related to cleaning and maintaining cleanliness. During the medieval period, this name may have been used to identify individuals by their occupation or trade.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Lavette can be found in the chronicles of the French writer and historian, Jean Froissart, who lived from around 1337 to 1405. In his writings, he mentioned a woman named Lavette who worked as a laundress in the court of King Charles VI of France.
Another notable figure who bore the name Lavette was Lavette de Villedieu, a French playwright and novelist who lived from 1640 to 1683. She was known for her tragedies and works that explored themes of love and passion.
In the 18th century, there was a French painter named Lavette Dorat who gained recognition for her portraits and still-life paintings. She was active in Paris during the late 1700s and was a member of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture.
During the 19th century, a French author named Lavette Desnoyers wrote several novels and short stories that explored themes of romance and social commentary. She was born in 1815 and lived until 1892.
Another notable figure with the name Lavette was Lavette Barrière, a French actress who graced the stages of Paris in the late 19th century. She was born in 1868 and was known for her roles in comedic plays and dramas.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Lavette, which has its roots in the French language and was often associated with professions related to cleaning and maintaining cleanliness in earlier times.
People
Lavette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lavette 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
Lavette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lavette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,036 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lavette 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 330,844 US residents.
Is Lavette a common name?
We classify Lavette as "Rare". It ranks above 90.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,190 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lavette most popular?
The single biggest year for Lavette was 1967, when 67 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lavette is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lavette a female name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Lavette 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.