Lorine
A feminine name of French origin meaning "laurel tree".
Name Census estimates that about 2,104 living Americans carry the first name Lorine. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lorine today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lorine births was 1922 (277 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lorine. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Lorine with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Lorine is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Lorines were born before 1965.
People living today
2.1K
~ 1 in 162,906 Americans
Peak year
1922
277 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1934 SSA rank
#3,527
Tracked since 1889
Census
Lorine in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,448 people with the first name Lorine, which placed it at #6,531 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
#6,531
National first-name rank
People counted
2.4K
2,448 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
46.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lorine
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lorine is White at 46.0%. The next largest groups are Black (44.9%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Lorine 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 Lorine at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.0% · 1,127
- Black or African American44.9% · 1,100
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 103
- Two or more races2.7% · 66
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 44
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Lorine
Out of the 8,762 babies given the name Lorine since 1880, 99.9% 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.
Lorine as a male name
- Ranked #3,527 in 1934
- 6 male births in 1934
- Peak: 1928 (6 births)
Lorine as a female name
- Ranked #16,650 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1922 (277 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lorine appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,450 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Lorine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lorine from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 2,444 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lorine 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 Lorine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lorines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 27 states and territories. Texas, Alabama, Mississippi recorded the most babies named Lorine, while North Dakota, Connecticut, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 224 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lorine
Lorine is a feminine given name of French origin, derived from the Latin name Laurentia, which itself comes from the name Laurentius. Laurentius was a Roman name derived from the Latin word "laurus," meaning "laurel." The laurel was an important symbol in ancient Roman culture, representing victory, honor, and triumph.
During the Middle Ages, the name Laurentia evolved into various forms across different regions of France, including Lorence, Lorance, and eventually, Lorine. This name gained popularity in France and other parts of Europe during the Renaissance period, particularly among the nobility and upper classes.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Lorine can be found in the 13th-century French text "La Vie de Saint Laurent" (The Life of Saint Laurence), which recounts the life and martyrdom of the 3rd-century Roman deacon Laurentius.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Lorine. For instance, Lorine Niedecker (1903-1970) was an American poet known for her precise and condensed poetic style, often drawing inspiration from the natural world. Another notable figure was Lorine Pruette (1928-2012), an American psychologist and author who pioneered the study of feminine psychology and the psychology of women's development.
In the realm of literature, Lorine Ivy Miller (1924-2021) was an American writer and educator, best known for her novel "The Poet's Wife," which explored the life of a 19th-century American poet. Additionally, Lorine Zinsser (1925-2004) was a highly regarded American journalist and author, known for her work on the New York Herald Tribune and her contributions to publications such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.
Another notable bearer of the name was Lorine Marlene Pruette (1956-2017), an American actress and singer who appeared in numerous television shows and films, including "The Rockford Files" and "The Incredible Hulk."
While the name Lorine has its roots in ancient Roman culture and gained popularity during the Renaissance period, it has continued to be used throughout various periods of history, carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and fields of endeavor.
People
Lorine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lorine 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
Lorine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lorine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,104 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lorine 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 162,906 US residents.
Is Lorine a common name?
We classify Lorine as "Rare". It ranks above 93.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8,762 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lorine most popular?
The single biggest year for Lorine was 1922, when 277 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lorine is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lorine in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,448 people with the name Lorine, or 0.81 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,531 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 Lorine 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 Lorine?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lorine appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,450 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Lorine?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lorine is White at 46.0%. The next largest groups are Black (44.9%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Lorine most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lorine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.0% (1,127 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 Lorine in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lorine a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Lorine 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 Lorine still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lorine 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 Lorine 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 are named Lorine?
Want to know how many Americans are named Lorine? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.