girl's name
Lorena
lo-RAY-nuh
- Origin Spanish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 51,101
Northern Ireland
#452
2019 births
Lorena is a place before it is a person — Lorraine is the land of Lothar, a Frankish king whose kingdom was carved out of Charlemagne's empire and named after him directly. Eleven centuries of wear have hidden the man inside the place name.
- Lorena is a name of Spanish origin.
- Peaked in 1980, when 835 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 19,164 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Lorena 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 | 508 |
| 1890s | 1,070 |
| 1900s | 1,522 |
| 1910s | 3,242 |
| 1920s | 3,272 |
| 1930s | 1,841 |
| 1940s | 1,552 |
| 1950s | 1,655 |
| 1960s | 3,539 |
| 1970s | 5,911 |
| 1980s | 6,663 |
| 1990s | 6,894 |
| 2000s | 4,437 |
| 2010s | 2,015 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,058 |
What Lorena means
Lorena means of Lorraine, a region of eastern France. It is a regional byname, so it records where a family came from rather than describing anyone.
Where Lorena comes from
Lorena is a Spanish and Italian form of Lorraine, from Lotharingia — the kingdom of Lothar, a great-grandson of Charlemagne, carved out when the Frankish empire was divided in 843. Lothar is the Germanic Hlothar, famous army, the same compound behind Luther. The region's name has been worn down from Lotharingia through Lothringen and Lorraine over eleven centuries, which is why the connection to a person is no longer visible.
Lorena in use
Lorena peaked in the United States in 1980, when 835 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 662nd in Scotland on 4 births, 688th in England and Wales on 54, 920th in France on 55 and 1293rd in the United States on 173, across 51,101 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track. Our records carry it from 1880.
How popular is Lorena?
In 2025, Lorena was given to 173 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Lorena 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.
How Lorena is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Loréna | Loréna is Lorena written with an acute accent, used in France, where it ranks #1,908. | 570 |
| Lorèna | Lorèna is a rare spelling of Lorena, written with a grave accent and recorded about 20 times, mostly in France. | 20 |
Names that peaked alongside Lorena
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Lorena also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Lorena over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Lorena 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 Lorena
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Lorena — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Lorena
What does the name Lorena mean?
Of Lorraine — the land of Lothar, a Frankish king.
Who was Lothar?
A great-grandson of Charlemagne, given the middle kingdom when the empire was divided in 843.
Is Luther related?
Yes — the same Germanic compound meaning famous army.
How popular is Lorena?
688th in England and Wales and 1293rd in the United States.
Is Lorena a girl's or a boy's name?
Lorena is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Lorena?
Lorena has 3 syllables.
Is Lorena a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Lorena currently ranks #662 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.