Lore
Derived from Latin, referring to storytelling and traditional knowledge.
Name Census estimates that about 786 living Americans carry the first name Lore. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lore today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lore births was 1961 (56 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lore. 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
786
~ 1 in 436,074 Americans
Peak year
1961
56 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,937
Tracked since 1915
Census
Lore in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,659 people with the first name Lore, which placed it at #8,681 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
#8,681
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,659 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lore
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lore is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.8%) and Black (6.1%). 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 Lore 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 Lore at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.1% · 1,313
- Hispanic or Latino10.8% · 179
- Black or African American6.1% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 28
- Two or more races1.6% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 10
Popularity
Lore: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lore 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 375 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
Lore 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 Lore during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lores live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Illinois, New York recorded the most babies named Lore, while Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lore
The name Lore has its origins in the German language. It is a shortened form of the feminine name Lorena or Lora, which is derived from the French name Laurene. The name Laurene, in turn, has its roots in the Latin name Laurentius, meaning "from Laurentum" – a city near Rome.
Lore was first recorded as a given name in the late Middle Ages, around the 13th or 14th century. It was particularly popular in German-speaking regions of Europe during this period. The name may have been influenced by the Latin word "laurus," meaning "laurel," which was a symbol of victory and honor in ancient Roman culture.
One of the earliest known references to the name Lore can be found in the medieval German epic poem "Das Nibelungenlied" (The Song of the Nibelungs), written around 1200 AD. In this work, the character Kriemhild has a handmaiden named Lore.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Lore. One of the earliest was Lore Webster (c. 1610-1662), an English Puritan woman who was accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials. Another early example is Lore Lay (1781-1855), a German folklore figure known as the "Lorelei," who was said to have lured sailors to their deaths with her enchanting singing.
In the 19th century, Lore Milch (1860-1931) was a German writer and feminist activist who advocated for women's rights and education. Lore Oppenheim (1871-1942) was a German-Jewish artist and painter who was known for her portraits and landscapes.
In the 20th century, Lore Nori (1901-1986) was an Italian actress and film director, best known for her work in Italian neorealist cinema. Lore Noto (1923-2015) was an American artist and sculptor, known for her abstract works in various mediums.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Lore throughout history, spanning different cultures, professions, and time periods. While the name has its roots in German and Latin, it has been adopted and used in various parts of the world, reflecting its enduring appeal and rich historical significance.
People
Lore + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lore 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
Lore: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lore?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 786 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lore 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 436,074 US residents.
Is Lore a common name?
We classify Lore 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, 1,118 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lore most popular?
The single biggest year for Lore was 1961, when 56 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lore is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lore in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,659 people with the name Lore, or 0.55 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,681 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 Lore 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 Lore?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lore leans strongly female. 1,576 people counted with this name were female (95.1%), compared with 82 male bearers (4.9%). 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 Lore?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lore is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.8%) and Black (6.1%). 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 Lore most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lore in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.1% (1,313 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 Lore in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lore a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lore 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 Lore still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lore 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 Lore 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 have Lore as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.