girl's name
Loretta
luh-RET-uh
- Origin Italian
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 179,565
the United States
#606
2025 births
Loretta comes from an Italian shrine, not from the laurel — Loreto is the town where the Holy House of Nazareth was said to have been carried by angels. Our data marks it reviving at 606th in the United States.
- Loretta is a name of Italian origin.
- Peaked in 1938, when 3,931 babies were given the name.
- After peaking in the 1930s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
- Today about 1 in 6,836 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Loretta 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 | 1,036 |
| 1890s | 3,382 |
| 1900s | 5,151 |
| 1910s | 14,607 |
| 1920s | 21,133 |
| 1930s | 31,682 |
| 1940s | 30,204 |
| 1950s | 30,474 |
| 1960s | 22,150 |
| 1970s | 8,650 |
| 1980s | 3,284 |
| 1990s | 1,380 |
| 2000s | 932 |
| 2010s | 1,804 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,197 |
What Loretta means
Loretta means of Loreto, an Italian town. The laurel reading commonly given comes from confusion with Laura, which is a separate name with a separate root.
Where Loretta comes from
Loretta is a diminutive of Lorete or Loreto, the Marches town where a small stone house venerated as the Virgin's home in Nazareth stands inside a basilica. The tradition holds that angels carried it from the Holy Land in 1294, and Our Lady of Loreto became patron of aviators on that account — the Italian air force still marks her feast. The name is usually glossed as laurel by association with Laura and Laurence, but those descend from the Latin laurus and this one does not; the town's own name is of uncertain origin.
Loretta in use
Loretta peaked in the United States in 1938, when 3,931 babies were registered, and our data marks it reviving. It now ranks 606th in the United States on 485 births, 905th in Scotland and 907th in England and Wales on 39, across 179,565 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Its Scottish and English positions sit within two ranks of each other.
How popular is Loretta?
In 2025, Loretta was given to 485 babies in the United States, ranking #606 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Loretta 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 Loretta
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Loretta also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Loretta over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Loretta
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Loretta 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 Loretta
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Loretta — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Loretta
What does the name Loretta mean?
Of Loreto, an Italian town — not laurel, which comes from the separate name Laura.
What is the Holy House of Loreto?
A stone house venerated as the Virgin's home in Nazareth, said to have been carried to Italy by angels in 1294.
Why is Loreto patron of aviators?
Because of the flight of the Holy House — the Italian air force still marks her feast.
Is Loretta coming back?
Our data marks it reviving, at 606th in the United States.
How popular is the name Loretta?
In 2025, Loretta was given to 485 babies in the United States, ranking #606 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Loretta a girl's or a boy's name?
Loretta is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Loretta?
Loretta has 3 syllables.
When was Loretta most popular?
Loretta peaked in 1938, when 3,931 babies were given the name. After peaking in the 1930s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
What are the nicknames for Loretta?
Loretta is usually shortened to Etta and Lori.
Is Loretta a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Loretta currently ranks #606 in the United States. After peaking in the 1930s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.