Girls' name · peaked in 1956
Laurel name popularity since 1925
47,147 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Laurel (97.4% girls, 2.6% boys). Half of them were born in 1969 or earlier, so the typical Laurel is about 57 years old in 2026. Laurel peaked in 1956 as the #241 name for girls, and it ranked #734 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 47,147
- Named Laurel, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #734
- for girls in 2025 (372 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 97.4% girls
- 45,900 girls · 1,247 boys
- Most popular in
- North Dakota
- 2.60× its national share
Peak year is the year Laurel made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Laurel births per year, 1925–2025
1956 was the biggest year for Laurel both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Steepest fall: Between 1927 and 1932, Laurel's share of baby girls fell by 41%.
- Fastest rise: Between 1935 and 1940, it became 2.6× more common, from 1 in 10,300 baby girls to 1 in 3,980.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Laurel's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Laurel.
Decade by decade
Babies named Laurel in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 838 | 254 | – |
| 1930s | 1,525 | 350 | #650 |
| 1940s | 4,890 | 255 | #298 |
| 1950s | 9,439 | 164 | #276 |
| 1960s | 6,366 | 103 | #405 |
| 1970s | 4,065 | 44 | #549 |
| 1980s | 4,901 | 57 | #402 |
| 1990s | 4,365 | 14 | #567 |
| 2000s | 3,445 | 0 | #783 |
| 2010s | 3,618 | 0 | #768 |
| 2020–25 | 2,448 | 6 | #734 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
34.1% of babies named Laurel from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Laurel is most popular
The index compares Laurel's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Laurel.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 2.60× | 345 |
| Washington | 2.26× | 1,590 |
| Minnesota | 2.17× | 1,666 |
| Oregon | 2.00× | 790 |
| Utah | 1.98× | 709 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Laurel and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Laurel (this page) | 45,900 | 1956 |
| Laural | 1,053 | 1957 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Laurel's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Laurel.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Laurel (1956).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data