girl's name
Laurie
LOR-ee
- Origin Latin
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 209,299
Scotland
#348
2024 births
Laurie is a name meaning laurel, and it is genuinely mixed by country — masculine in Britain as a short form of Laurence, feminine in America as a short form of Laura. About 98 percent of the births in our records are female.
- Laurie is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 1962, when 10,706 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 55,258 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1882.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Laurie over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 56 |
| 1890s | 96 |
| 1900s | 136 |
| 1910s | 498 |
| 1920s | 783 |
| 1930s | 1,051 |
| 1940s | 5,541 |
| 1950s | 47,249 |
| 1960s | 74,719 |
| 1970s | 26,231 |
| 1980s | 8,355 |
| 1990s | 2,031 |
| 2000s | 844 |
| 2010s | 555 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 297 |
What Laurie means
Laurie means laurel, or from Laurentum, depending on which parent name it shortens. Both Laura and Laurence trace to the laurel, so the meaning is the same either way.
Where Laurie comes from
Laurie shortens two names that share a root. Laura is the feminine of the Latin Laurus, the laurel or bay tree that crowned victors and poets; Laurence is Laurentius, a man of Laurentum, a town whose name is itself usually traced to the laurel. British usage has long taken Laurie as a man's name from Laurence — Laurie Lee, who wrote Cider with Rosie, was Laurence — while American usage took it from Laura and made it female. Our pooled figure of 98 percent female reflects the American volume rather than the British pattern.
Laurie in use
Laurie peaked in the United States in 1962, when 10,706 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 348th in Scotland on 11 births, 375th in England and Wales on 126, 2847th in the United States on 60 and 6973rd in France, across 209,299 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track. The two British markets now place it far above America, which fits the masculine British use continuing while the American feminine one fades.
How popular is Laurie?
In 2025, Laurie was given to 60 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Laurie is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Laurie
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Laurie also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Laurie over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Laurie in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Laurie
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Laurie — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Laurie
What does the name Laurie mean?
Laurel — both Laura and Laurence, the names it shortens, trace to the laurel tree.
Is Laurie a boys' name?
In Britain, yes — as a short form of Laurence. American usage took it from Laura and made it female.
Is it Laurie or Lori?
Lori is the American spelling and Laurie the more British one, though both are used for both.
How popular is Laurie?
375th in England and Wales and 348th in Scotland, well ahead of its American position.
How many syllables are in Laurie?
Laurie has 2 syllables.
Is Laurie a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Laurie currently ranks #348 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.