Lorna

Where Lorna comes from

Coined by English novelist R. D. Blackmore in 1869 for his novel Lorna Doone, possibly from the Scottish place name Lorn(e) in Argyll.
— Wiktionary's entry for Lorna
  • Scottish Gaelic
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1885
    First appearance
    #921 among girls, 6 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1928
    Lorna Wing born
    British autism researcher
  3. 1941
    Peak, #298
    464 babies named Lorna — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1952
    Lorna Luft born
    American television, stage and film actress and singer
  5. 1971
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #729.
In the dictionary
  • A female given name from Scottish Gaelic of mostly Scottish usage.
Namesakes
  • Lorna Wing · British autism researcher, 1928–2014
  • Lorna Luft · American television, stage and film actress and singer, born 1952
  • Lorna Gray · American actress, 1917–2017
  • Lorna Raver · American actress, 1943–2025
  • Lorna Simpson · American photographer, born 1960

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.