Laurel

Where Laurel comes from

The dictionaries list Laurel as a given name — a female or male given name from English from the laurel plant — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • English
Along the way
  1. 1883
    First appearance
    #561 among girls, 12 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1915
    Mostly girls from here
    Until now more boys than girls got the name; from this year it's the other way round, and has stayed that way.
  3. 1927
    Laurel Aitken born
    Cuban singer
  4. 1956
    Peak, #241
    1,181 babies named Laurel — more than any year before or since.
  5. 1961
    Laurel Clark born
    NASA astronaut, medical doctor, United States Navy Captain, and Space Shuttle mission specialist
  6. 1964
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #416.
In the dictionary
  • A female or male given name from English from the laurel plant.
Namesakes
  • Laurel Clark · NASA astronaut, medical doctor, United States Navy Captain, and Space Shuttle mission specialist, 1961–2003
  • Laurel Aitken · Cuban singer, 1927–2005
  • Laurel Holloman · American painter and actress, born 1971
  • Laurel Hubbard · Weightlifter from New Zealand, born 1978
  • Laurel Goodwin · American actress, 1942–2022

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.