Lorey
Of English origin, a feminine name derived from the laurel plant.
Name Census estimates that about 216 living Americans carry the first name Lorey. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lorey today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lorey births was 1962 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lorey. 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
216
~ 1 in 1,586,826 Americans
Peak year
1962
20 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
1984 SSA rank
#11,414
Tracked since 1944
Census
Lorey in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 388 people with the first name Lorey, which placed it at #24,718 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
#24,718
National first-name rank
People counted
388
388 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
73.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lorey
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lorey is White at 73.5%. The next largest groups are Black (11.1%) and Hispanic (10.3%). 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 Lorey 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 Lorey at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.5% · 285
- Black or African American11.1% · 43
- Hispanic or Latino10.3% · 40
- Two or more races2.1% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 5
Popularity
Lorey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lorey from the 1940s through to the 1980s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 131 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
Lorey 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 Lorey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lorey
The name Lorey is believed to have originated from the French language and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Latin word "laurus," meaning laurel or bay tree, which was a symbol of victory and honor in ancient Roman culture.
During the Medieval period, the name Lorey was often associated with individuals who lived near laurel trees or worked with laurel products, such as laurel oil or laurel wreaths. The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the 12th century in France, where it was primarily used as a surname.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Lorey was Jean Lorey, a French nobleman who lived in the 13th century. He was a prominent figure in the court of King Louis IX and was known for his military service during the Seventh Crusade.
In the 15th century, a woman named Marie Lorey gained recognition for her skills as a herbalist and midwife in the city of Lyon, France. Her knowledge of medicinal plants, including the laurel, was highly sought after by the local community.
In the 16th century, the name Lorey gained popularity among Protestant families in France, particularly those of Huguenot descent. One notable figure from this period was Pierre Lorey, a Huguenot minister who was persecuted for his religious beliefs during the French Wars of Religion.
In the 17th century, a French explorer named Jacques Lorey accompanied the famous explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, on his expedition to explore the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. Lorey's name is mentioned in several historical accounts of this expedition.
Another notable figure with the name Lorey was Marie-Anne Lorey, a French painter and engraver who lived in the 18th century. She was known for her intricate engravings of botanical subjects, including laurel leaves and branches.
While the name Lorey has its roots in French culture, it has also been adopted and used in other countries over the centuries. However, it has remained relatively uncommon compared to other given names, and its usage has primarily been limited to certain regions and cultural contexts.
People
Lorey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lorey 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
Lorey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lorey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 216 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lorey 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 1,586,826 US residents.
Is Lorey a common name?
We classify Lorey as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 265 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lorey most popular?
The single biggest year for Lorey was 1962, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lorey is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lorey in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 388 people with the name Lorey, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,718 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 Lorey 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 Lorey?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lorey leans strongly female. 324 people counted with this name were female (83.7%), compared with 63 male bearers (16.3%). 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 Lorey?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lorey is White at 73.5%. The next largest groups are Black (11.1%) and Hispanic (10.3%). 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 Lorey most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lorey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.5% (285 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 Lorey in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lorey a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lorey 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 Lorey still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lorey 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 Lorey 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 Lorey as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Lorey on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.