Laura (given name)

Laura is a female given name in Latin Europe, Western Europe and North America whose meaning ("bay laurel") is a metonym for a victor, and an early hypocorism from Laurel and Lauren.[1][2][3]

Laura
Laurel wreaths are traditionally a symbol of honor and victory.
Pronunciation/ˈlɔːrə/ LOR-ə
GenderFemale
Name dayApril 18, October 19
Origin
Word/nameItaly
MeaningLaurus nobilis
Region of originLatin Europe
Other names
Related names
Lauraina, Lauraine, Laure, Lauren, Lauranna, Lauriana (or Laurianna), Laurie, Lori, Laurel, Laurielle, Lara, Lora, Larissa, Laurissa, Laureen
Laurentius
Laura de Noves, the subject of love poetry by Petrarch

Origin and usage

The name Laura is the feminized form of laurus, Latin for "bay laurel plant", which in the Greco-Roman era was used as a symbol of victory, honor or fame. The name represents the embodiment of victory and strength. The name Daphne, derived from Ancient Greek, carries the same meaning.

Popularity

In British North America, it is very likely that the name Laura was extremely popular for female newborns until its rapid decline starting in the late 19th century. The name Laura was among the top 40 names for female newborns for much of the late 19th century in the United States until it dropped off the chart in 1899 at #43. The overall highest known rank for the name Laura in the 19th century was #17 in the years 1880 and 1882 with the male name Samuel. Running up, the name Laura in the 19th century was #19 in 1881 and 1883 with the male name Louis. The name Laura was among the top 50 names for female newborns for much of the early 20th century in the United States, but dropped to the top 100–120 by the 1930s–40s, then rebounded to the top 20 in 1984–1986, and has since steadily decreased in popularity. The overall highest known rank for the name Laura in the 20th century is #10 in 1969 with the male name Richard. The latest highest known rank for the name Laura in the 20th century is #14 in 1985 with the male name Jason. The name Laura was the most rare in the years 1887, 1888, 1890, 1891, 1893, 1897, 1898, 1905, 1963, and 1968.

In Europe, the name Laura remains as popular as it was in the past. In the early 21st century in the late 2000s, it ranked within the top 10 in countries such as Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Greenland, Luxembourg, Spain, and Switzerland.[4]

The name is occasionally confused or conjoined with the name Lara (pronounced LAR-ruh) which is a totally different name and is listed separately on name popularity lists.

Variants

Namesakes

Religion

Academics
  • Laura Wright, professor at Western Carolina University
  • Laura Alexander, professor at High Point University
Celebrities
Entertainers
Law
  • Laura Codruţa Kövesi, former Prosecutor-General of Romania
  • Laura E. Gómez, law professor of University of New Mexico
  • Laura Wasser, American attorney
Politics
Science and technology
Sports
Writers and journalists
Fictional characters

Things

Name days
gollark: PotatOS is minified via some random surprisingly reliable program written for Roblox 7 years ago.
gollark: Or apply LZW or something.
gollark: Can you not just normally minify it? I did this to potatOS now.
gollark: The server's time appears to somehow be about 50 minutes *behind*, but I checked against that and I believe my time is right.
gollark: 2013, actually.

See also
  • Laura (disambiguation)
  • All pages with titles beginning with Laura

References
  1. Albaigès, Josep M.; Olivart, J. M. A. (1993). Diccionario de nombres de personas (in Spanish). Universitat de Barcelona. p. 156. ISBN 978-84-475-0264-6. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  2. "Popular Baby Names". www.ssa.gov.
  3. Campbell, Mike. "Meaning, origin and history of the name Laura". Behind the Name.
  4. List of most popular given names
  5. "Welsh Government: Popular Welsh names for girls". Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  • Works related to Laura at Wikisource
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