Laura

English from Latin
"from Laurentum or bay laurel"

Laura Origin and Meaning

The name Laura is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "from Laurentum or bay laurel".

Laura is a hauntingly evocative perennial, never trendy, never dated, feminine without being fussy, with literary links stretching back to Dante. All this makes Laura a more solid choice than any of its more decorative counterparts and one of the most classic girl names starting with L.

Laura has ranked on the popular names list since official US records have been kept. A frequent Top 20 name from 1963 to 1986, reaching Number 10 in 1969, Laura remained in the Top 100—minus a brief stretch from 1935 to 1944—until as recently as 2001.

The meaning of the name, laurel, implies victory via the laurel wreath worn by Olympic athletes and Roman emperors. It was first made famous by the Laura to whom the Italian Renaissance poet Petrarch dedicated many of his love poems and was later used by Dickens in Bleak House.

Well known Lauras include First Lady Bush, Little House writer Ingalls Wilder, designer Ashley, and actors Dern and Linney.

# 365 in the US

Laura Rank in US Top 1000

# 231 on Nameberry

Laura Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Laura Popularity

Famous People Named Laura

  • Laura Ingalls Wilder
    American Pioneer and children's novelist
  • Laura Lane Welch Bush
    U.S. First Lady as wife of President George W. Bush
  • Laura Prepon
    American actress
  • Laura Leggett Linney
    American actress
  • Laura Elizabeth Dern
    American actress
  • Laura Kaeppeler
    Miss America 2012
  • Laura Beatrice Marling
    English singer,songwriter
  • Laura Elizabeth Carmichael
    English actress
  • Laura Marano
    American actress
  • Laura Allen
    American actress
  • Laura Sioux Kirkpatrick
    American model
  • Laura Ilene Benanti
    American actress
  • Laura Fraser
    Scottish actress
  • Laura
    Leigh, (born Laura Leigh Moser), American actress
  • Laura Ann Osnes
    American actress and singer
  • Laura Mennell
    Canadian actress
  • Laura Anne Ingraham
    American radio host
  • author
    and political commentator
  • Laura Ewa Łącz
    Polish actress
  • Laura Samojłowicz
    Polish actress
  • Laura Colleen Gloria Alleway
    Australian soccer players
  • Laura Bassett
    English football player
  • Laura Stéphanie Georges
    French football player
  • Laura Anna Benkarth
    German football player
  • Laura del Rio Garcia
    Spanish football player
  • Laura Willingham Bailey
    Voice actor and player on the dnd show Critical Role
  • Laura Zeng
    American rhythmic gymnast
  • Laura Halford
    British rhythmic gymnast
  • Laura Pergolizzi
    American singer,songwriter who goes by LP
  • Laura Sales
    Portuguese rhythmic gymnast
  • Laura Pausini
    Italian singer
  • Laura Bragato
    Beautiful Italian Model

Laura in Pop Culture

  • Laura Holt
    character on TV's "Remington Steele"
  • Laura Wingfield
    character in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
  • Laura Roslin
    character on TV's "Battlestar Galactica"
  • Laura Petrie
    character on "The Dick van Dyke Show"
  • Laura Palmer
    character on TV series/film "Twin Peaks"
  • Laura Winslow
    character on TV's "Family Matters"
  • Laura Spencer
    character on American soap "General Hospital"
  • Laura
    character in video game Silent Hill 2
  • Laura Proek
    character on "Fortysomething"
  • Laura Hellinger
    character on TV series "The Good Wife"
  • Laura Hollis
    character on the web,series, "Carmilla"
  • Laura Chase
    character in "The Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood
  • Laura "X
    23" Kinney, character in "X,Men"
  • Laura Victoriano
    character in the video game "The Evil Within"
  • Laura Moon (nee McCabe)
    character in book and TV series "American Gods"
  • "Tell Laura I Love Her
    " song by Ray Peterson
  • "Laura
    " song by Scissor Sisters
  • "Laura
    " song by Bat For Lashes
  • Laura
    a character from the 3DS game "Fantasy Life"
  • Laura Bow
    main protagonist of her eponymous Sierra adventure game series
  • Laura Hardy
    the mother of the Hardy Boys
  • Laura Vanderboom
    character in the Cube Escape and Rusty lake series