Loring
From Old English, meaning a long ridge or hill.
Name Census estimates that about 512 living Americans carry the first name Loring. It is a predominantly male name (98.3% of registrations). The average person named Loring today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Loring births was 1922 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Loring. 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 Loring is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Lorings were born before 1967.
People living today
512
~ 1 in 669,442 Americans
Peak year
1922
34 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
1990 SSA rank
#6,884
Tracked since 1883
Gender
Gender distribution for Loring
Loring leans heavily male at 98.3% of total registrations, but 22 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Loring as a male name
- Ranked #6,884 in 1990
- 7 male births in 1990
- Peak: 1922 (34 births)
Loring as a female name
- Ranked #9,174 in 1973
- 5 female births in 1973
- Peak: 1954 (6 births)
Popularity
Loring: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Loring from the 1880s through to the 1990s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 274 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
Loring 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 Loring during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lorings live
Origin
Meaning and history of Loring
The name Loring is an English given name with origins dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "lor," meaning a path or track. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a road or traveled frequently.
During the medieval period, the name was sometimes spelled as "Looring" or "Loryng." It was primarily used in England and parts of Scotland, where it was associated with families of Anglo-Saxon and Norman descent.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Loring can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The book mentions a landowner named Loring holding estates in Suffolk.
In the 13th century, a prominent figure named Loring served as a knight and courtier under King Henry III of England. He is mentioned in several historical records from that time, including the Pipe Rolls and Close Rolls.
During the Renaissance period, a notable individual named Loring Leatherland (1497-1572) was an English clergyman and scholar who served as the Archdeacon of Middlesex.
In the 18th century, Loring Austin (1718-1786) was a prominent American lawyer and judge who served as the Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court of Judicature.
Another notable figure with the name Loring was Loring Henderson (1806-1875), an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts.
Loring Coes (1903-1987) was an American athlete who competed in the long jump event at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, where he won a bronze medal.
Loring Mandel (1923-2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist known for his works such as the play "Romanoff and Juliet" and the novel "Merry Christmas, Dr. Ding."
While the name Loring has been used throughout history, it has remained relatively uncommon, especially in more recent times. However, it continues to be a part of the English naming tradition, carrying with it a connection to its medieval roots and the concept of paths and travel.
People
Loring + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Loring 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
Loring: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Loring?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 512 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Loring 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 669,442 US residents.
Is Loring a common name?
We classify Loring as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,307 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Loring most popular?
The single biggest year for Loring was 1922, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Loring is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Loring a male name?
Yes, 98.3% of people registered as Loring 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.