How Many People Are Named Laurel?
An estimated 36,580 people in the United States have the first name Laurel. It is predominantly female (96.2%). The average bearer is 46 years old, and Laurel peaked in popularity in 1956 with 1,197 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Laurel as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Laurel paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Laurel is overwhelmingly female, 1,860 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
36,580
About 1 in 9,370 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
96.2% confidence
Average Age
46
years old
Peak Year
1956
1,197 births
Total Registered
48,599
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Laurel
Laurel is predominantly female (96.2%), though 1,860 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Laurel as a male name
Ranked #11,704 in 2022
6 male births in 2022
Peak: 1926 (69 births)
Laurel as a female name
Ranked #728 in 2024
386 female births in 2024
Peak: 1956 (1,181 births)
Laurel: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Laurel span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 9,603 babies were registered. Laurel has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Laurel by Decade
How has Laurel tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 52 | 10 | 42 | |
| 1890s | 114 | 16 | 98 | |
| 1900s | 142 | 34 | 108 | |
| 1910s | 652 | 286 | 366 | |
| 1920s | 1,958 | 521 | 1,437 | |
| 1930s | 1,875 | 350 | 1,525 | |
| 1940s | 5,145 | 255 | 4,890 | |
| 1950s | 9,603 | 164 | 9,439 | |
| 1960s | 6,468 | 103 | 6,365 | |
| 1970s | 4,109 | 44 | 4,065 | |
| 1980s | 4,958 | 57 | 4,901 | |
| 1990s | 4,379 | 14 | 4,365 | |
| 2000s | 3,445 | 0 | 3,445 | |
| 2010s | 3,618 | 0 | 3,618 | |
| 2020s | 2,081 | 6 | 2,075 | |
Laurel by State
Birth registrations for Laurel span all 50 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, New York, Illinois. The lowest are in Wyoming, Nevada, Vermont. On average, about 837 Laurels were registered per state.
Laurel + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Laurel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Laurel
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
Laurel: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Laurel?
We estimate approximately 36,580 people named Laurel are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 9,370 Americans share this first name.
Is Laurel a common name?
Laurel is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 48,599 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Laurel most popular?
Laurel reached peak popularity in 1956, when 1,197 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Laurel is approximately 46 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Laurel a female name?
Laurel is predominantly female. 96.2% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Laurel Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Laurel Smith, Laurel Johnson, Laurel Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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