Lazer
Variant of the biblical name Eleazar, from Hebrew meaning "God has helped".
Name Census estimates that about 782 living Americans carry the first name Lazer. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lazer today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lazer births was 2023 (55 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lazer. 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
782
~ 1 in 438,305 Americans
Peak year
2023
55 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,122
Tracked since 1958
Popularity
Lazer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lazer from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 317 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Lazer remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lazer 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 Lazer during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lazers live
Origin
Meaning and history of Lazer
The name Lazer is believed to have its origins in Hebrew, derived from the biblical name Eleazar, which means "God has helped." The name Eleazar appears in several passages throughout the Old Testament, including the Book of Numbers, where it is mentioned as the name of Aaron's third son.
In the Middle Ages, the name Eleazar was often transliterated into various European languages, leading to variations such as Lazar, Lazare, and Lazarus. These forms were particularly common in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, where they were used by Jewish and Christian communities alike.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lazer can be found in the Byzantine Empire, where a monk named Lazer of Murom lived in the late 11th century. He is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church for his ascetic lifestyle and alleged miraculous healings.
In the 14th century, a prominent Jewish scholar and philosopher named Lazar ben Moshe Idelsohn lived in Spain and wrote extensively on Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism. His works had a significant impact on the development of Jewish thought during the Golden Age of Spanish Jewry.
During the Renaissance, a Serbian nobleman named Lazar Hrebeljanović (c. 1329-1389) played a pivotal role in the Battle of Kosovo against the Ottoman Empire. Despite his ultimate defeat and death, he became a celebrated figure in Serbian folklore and is remembered as a symbol of resistance and national pride.
In the 19th century, a Russian general named Lazar Globa (1805-1888) distinguished himself in the Caucasus War and the Crimean War, earning numerous military honors for his service. He is remembered as one of the most skilled cavalry commanders of his era.
Another notable figure with the name Lazer was the Bulgarian revolutionary and socialist leader, Lazer Kolishevski (1876-1918). He played a significant role in the struggle for national liberation and social reform in the early 20th century, and his legacy continues to be celebrated in Bulgaria today.
People
Lazer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lazer 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
Lazer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lazer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 782 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lazer 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 438,305 US residents.
Is Lazer a common name?
We classify Lazer as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 791 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lazer most popular?
The single biggest year for Lazer was 2023, when 55 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lazer is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lazer a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lazer in the SSA data are male. 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.