Lorette
A feminine diminutive French variant of the Latin name "Laura", meaning "laurel plant".
Name Census estimates that about 430 living Americans carry the first name Lorette. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lorette today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lorette births was 1956 (46 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lorette. 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 Lorette is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Lorettes were born before 1969.
People living today
430
~ 1 in 797,103 Americans
Peak year
1956
46 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
2012 SSA rank
#18,461
Tracked since 1897
Popularity
Lorette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lorette from the 1890s through to the 2010s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 202 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lorette 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 Lorette during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lorettes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Maine, Massachusetts, New York recorded the most babies named Lorette, while New Hampshire, California, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 22 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lorette
The name Lorette is a French feminine diminutive form of the name Laure, which derives from the Latin name Laurus, meaning "laurel." The laurel was a plant that was highly revered in ancient Rome and Greece, often used to make crowns for poets, scholars, and victors. The name can be traced back to the early medieval period in France.
Lorette was a relatively uncommon name in the Middle Ages, but it gained some popularity in the 17th and 18th centuries. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is Lorette de Nogent, a 14th-century French noblewoman who lived from around 1320 to 1380. Another early bearer of the name was Lorette Labouresse, a French nun who lived from 1806 to 1876 and is known for her role in promoting the Miraculous Medal devotion.
In the 19th century, the name gained wider recognition with the publication of the novel "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" by Victor Hugo in 1831. One of the main characters, a beautiful gypsy girl, is named Lorette. This likely contributed to the name's popularity in France during that time period.
Another notable Lorette was Lorette Renard, a French actress who lived from 1888 to 1983. She appeared in numerous films during the early 20th century and was known for her comedic roles.
In the world of sports, Lorette Naville was a Swiss figure skater who competed in the 1924 and 1928 Winter Olympics. She won a silver medal in the ladies' singles event in 1924.
While the name Lorette has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has been borne by a number of notable individuals across various fields, showcasing its enduring charm and connection to the ancient symbolism of the laurel plant.
People
Lorette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lorette 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
Lorette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lorette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 430 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lorette 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 797,103 US residents.
Is Lorette a common name?
We classify Lorette as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,096 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lorette most popular?
The single biggest year for Lorette was 1956, when 46 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lorette is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lorette a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lorette 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.