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Laura as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Laura

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The baby name Laura is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈlɔːrə/ or /ˈlɑːrə/ (LAW-ruh or LAH-ruh); Spanish: /ˈlau̯ɾa/ (LOW-rah).

Laura is Latin in Origin.

Gender: Female
Syllables: 2.0
Origin: Latin
Pronunciation: /ˈlɔːrə/ or /ˈlɑːrə/ (LAW-ruh or LAH-ruh); Spanish: /ˈlau̯ɾa/ (LOW-rah)

What is the meaning of the name Laura ?

The baby name Laura is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈlɔːrə/ or /ˈlɑːrə/ (LAW-ruh or LAH-ruh); Spanish: /ˈlau̯ɾa/ (LOW-rah).

Laura is Latin in Origin.

Laura derives from Latin laurus, 'laurel/bay tree,' ancient emblem of victory, honor, and poetic renown; by extension it means 'crowned with laurel.' Used in the Roman world and carried forward in Christian Europe, the name gained staying power through saints such as Laura of Córdoba (9th c.) and Laura of Constantinople (15th c.). Petrarch's celebrated muse Laura de Noves fixed the name in Renaissance imagination, associating it with lyric beauty and learned culture.

Long established across Italy, Spain, France, and the German lands, Laura entered steady English use by the 17th century, flourished in the 19th, and saw renewed Anglophone popularity in the late 20th century. International variants and related forms include Laure (French), Lora, Lara, Laurel, Lauren, Laurie, Laureen, Lauryn, Loretta/Lauretta, and diminutives such as Laurita and Laurina. The pan-European appeal and timeless classical roots keep Laura familiar yet elegant.

Laura has the following similar or variant Names

Laura in Other Languages

Language Equivalent Name
French Laure
Spanish Laura
Italian Laura
Portuguese Laura
Romanian Laura
Polish Laura
Russian Лаура
Hungarian Lóra
Finnish Laura / Lauri (male)
Greek Λάουρα (Laura)

Famous people with the name Laura

Laura Bush Politician · Born 1946 · United States Laura Bush is best known as the first lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009, during the presidency of her husband, George W. Bush. Born Laura Lane Welch Bush, she is also an American educator. Laura Chinchilla Politician · Born 1959 · Costa Rica Laura Chinchilla is best known as the President of Costa Rica, serving from 2010 to 2014. A Costa Rican political scientist and politician, she also served as one of Óscar Arias Sánchez’s two vice presidents and as his Minister of Justice. Laura Esquivel Politician · Born 1950 · Mexico Laura Esquivel is a Mexican novelist and screenwriter best known for her bestselling novel Like Water for Chocolate. She also worked as a politician, and Like Water for Chocolate was later adapted into an award-winning film.
Laura Slade Wiggins Musician · Born 1988 · United States Laura Slade Wiggins is an American actress and singer best known for playing Karen Jackson on Shameless. She appeared on the Showtime series from 2011 to 2013, where her character became known as a troubled, self-destructive teenager.

Celebrity babies named Laura

Name Last Name(s) Mother Mother famous for Fame Level Father Father famous for Fame Level
Laura Truffaut François Truffaut film director ★★★★★
Laura Smet Johnny Hallyday television actor ★★★★★
Laura Dern Diane Ladd film director ★★★★★ Bruce Dern television actor ★★★★★
Laura Duke Condominas Niki de Saint Phalle film director ★★★★★

Laura – Popularity by country

Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.

Country Gender Year Rank Born of
Ireland Girls 2025 #1 — 874
Germany Girls 2025 #1 — 411
Finland 0 #1 1,857 830
UY Girls 0 #3 8,529 6,731
AR Girls 0 #5 9,551 8,289
CO Girls 0 #5 79,835 16,140
CR Girls 0 #5 4,441 11,342
Spain Girls 0 #5 62,780 5,561
IT Girls 0 #5 177,064 9,415
CO 0 #7 6,526 7,768
CR 0 #7 313 5,526
LU Girls 0 #7 380 4,850
MX Girls 0 #7 42,660 17,781
FJ Girls 0 #8 2 583
Spain 0 #9 4,468 2,326
LT 0 #9 146 949
LT Girls 0 #9 1,179 1,904
Austria Girls 2024 #10 397 60
AR 0 #10 339 2,915
UY 0 #10 349 2,477
Finland Girls 0 #11 5,147 1,368
Finland Girls 2026 #13 23,118 3,895
KR Girls 0 #13 3 572
LU 0 #13 61 2,830
NL Girls 0 #13 9,370 5,933
IT 0 #14 13,579 4,183
EE Girls 0 #16 238 1,888
ET Girls 0 #16 1 372
SV Girls 0 #17 2 458
MX 0 #18 1,642 8,339
BW 0 #19 1 960
EE 0 #20 18 1,051
HN 0 #20 3 704
HT Girls 0 #20 4 950
NL 0 #21 852 2,481
KZ 0 #22 96 1,452
KZ Girls 0 #22 1,850 5,862
NL Girls 2014 #23 132 73
PA Girls 0 #24 1,589 9,861
SV Boys 0 #28 1 352
Switzerland Girls 2024 #29 149 1,786
BI Girls 0 #30 4 726
BN 0 #31 2 2,297
BO Girls 0 #31 3,911 9,488
HN Girls 0 #31 8 884
MD 0 #31 4 434
Germany Girls 0 #32 11,112 4,949
NA 0 #32 2 2,537
ID 0 #33 7 2,238
MT 0 #33 11 1,767
MV Girls 0 #33 3 2,021
CM 0 #34 22 2,592
TM Girls 0 #35 1 574
SI Girls 0 #37 216 2,769
SI 0 #39 44 1,612
GE 0 #40 5 997
Germany 0 #41 1,183 2,542
PR 0 #41 15 1,497
HU Girls 0 #42 638 3,308
AZ 0 #43 1 706
AO Girls 0 #44 252 4,575
DK Girls 0 #44 999 7,429
Austria Girls 0 #46 1,865 1,885
HR Girls 0 #46 1,266 3,687
MO 0 #46 7 2,706
PA 0 #46 91 3,797
IT Girls 2014 #47 968 48
AO 0 #51 26 2,729
MU Girls 0 #52 785 8,539
PR Girls 0 #52 148 3,171
CY 0 #54 7 1,632
EC Girls 0 #55 316 3,650
New Zealand Girls 2008 #56 59 97
HU 0 #57 70 1,675
PT Girls 0 #58 3,149 7,952
AL 0 #59 17 2,372
CL Girls 0 #59 8,274 14,098
AL Girls 0 #62 253 4,141
MT Girls 0 #63 94 3,773
JP 0 #64 14 4,057
CY Girls 0 #65 60 3,755
MD Girls 0 #65 26 865
DK 0 #68 197 5,198
AZ Girls 0 #69 7 1,051
CN 0 #69 17 3,857
BR Girls 0 #70 6,836 12,708
GE Girls 0 #70 36 1,564
IN 0 #71 1 2,963
Austria 0 #74 205 850
Sweden Girls 2022 #79 127 1,568
BO 0 #79 525 6,868
EC 0 #79 37 2,502
CM Girls 0 #80 1,264 11,671
RS 0 #80 5 923
BG 0 #81 2 1,799
QA 0 #81 20 7,011
ID Girls 0 #84 15 3,319
MU 0 #84 58 3,613
TW 0 #84 17 4,523
PE Girls 0 #85 6,416 14,861
PH 0 #87 10 5,607
BN Girls 0 #89 18 5,459
Norway Girls 2025 #90 38 453
HR 0 #90 112 2,081
JM 0 #91 3 3,714
GT Girls 0 #92 949 7,500
AE 0 #94 84 10,220
AF Girls 0 #94 1 2,402
OM 0 #97 20 6,215
PT 0 #101 248 4,161
PL Girls 0 #102 1,431 5,096
SD 0 #102 1 2,130
CN Girls 0 #110 377 8,829
GE Boys 0 #110 1 2,055
KW 0 #114 8 5,216
RS Girls 0 #115 21 1,651
CZ Girls 0 #118 432 5,378
GR 0 #118 17 3,911
CL 0 #121 543 6,867
BR 0 #124 293 5,969
EE Boys 0 #124 2 2,087
Belgium Girls 2024 #125 61 424
PE 0 #128 219 6,350
BW Girls 0 #129 20 4,216
Canada Girls 2024 #133 170 2,795
IQ 0 #133 1 3,533
GR Girls 0 #134 113 6,293
JO 0 #136 5 2,158
BN Boys 0 #138 2 6,332
JP Girls 0 #142 115 6,592
LT Boys 0 #144 8 2,166
CZ 0 #147 39 3,154
France Girls 2021 #148 354 3,185
GT 0 #150 188 5,948
PL 0 #152 72 2,600
RS Boys 0 #153 2 2,277
TW Girls 0 #153 133 8,139
BW Boys 0 #154 1 4,685
NA Girls 0 #160 65 7,146
RU Girls 0 #162 672 11,913
RU 0 #165 25 3,641
PS 0 #171 48 5,692
HU Boys 0 #172 3 3,954
MT Boys 0 #179 1 4,064
SG 0 #182 88 11,010
MO Girls 0 #183 69 7,056
QA Girls 0 #187 131 15,378
IR 0 #188 42 4,221
BG Girls 0 #205 19 3,559
IL 0 #206 69 6,291
IR Girls 0 #206 461 8,334
SI Boys 0 #208 4 3,402
LU Boys 0 #218 3 4,970
BG Boys 0 #220 1 3,850
JM Girls 0 #220 40 7,507
AE Girls 0 #227 367 20,968
SG Girls 0 #229 473 18,916
GH 0 #232 12 5,396
NG 0 #232 33 5,926
MO Boys 0 #234 1 5,842
BD 0 #238 4 5,992
EC Boys 0 #239 8 3,322
ZA 0 #243 209 14,421
AO Boys 0 #246 4 5,568
HR Boys 0 #246 13 3,997
NA Boys 0 #253 1 6,830
TW Boys 0 #256 1 7,111
KZ Boys 0 #259 31 6,578
GH Girls 0 #260 65 6,973
JO Girls 0 #262 64 7,570
MY 0 #268 63 12,352
SA 0 #269 27 10,560
GR Boys 0 #273 1 6,912
OM Girls 0 #273 124 15,987
NG Girls 0 #278 958 15,093
AL Boys 0 #289 10 5,122
PH Girls 0 #291 101 13,098
JM Boys 0 #292 2 6,876
IL Girls 0 #297 417 11,648
HK Girls 0 #298 394 16,104
HK 0 #298 51 8,483
CZ Boys 0 #299 7 6,530
PS Girls 0 #299 255 10,981
Canada Boys 1991 #302 6 1,696
United States Girls 2024 #314 868 8,487
UY Boys 0 #321 81 5,922
CN Boys 0 #326 6 9,639
DK Boys 0 #331 2 7,401
PL Boys 0 #333 8 6,459
PT Boys 0 #340 28 7,951
AR Boys 0 #341 133 7,628
SD Girls 0 #351 8 7,678
LB 0 #357 365 13,263
EG 0 #359 42 6,387
GH Boys 0 #360 2 8,138
MU Boys 0 #363 7 8,477
ZA Girls 0 #373 1,577 25,928
KW Girls 0 #374 142 19,177
CO Boys 0 #377 901 15,656
JO Boys 0 #389 1 7,057
YE 0 #390 9 8,639
France Boys 2004 #394 3 2,538
BD Girls 0 #402 5 8,413
Austria Boys 0 #426 17 2,180
MY Girls 0 #432 728 24,821
CR Boys 0 #450 38 10,188
PA Boys 0 #453 29 9,305
IQ Girls 0 #460 45 11,303
GT Boys 0 #461 14 7,625
CM Boys 0 #497 54 12,054
BH 0 #503 51 17,937
BO Boys 0 #505 88 9,244
LY 0 #517 19 12,703
RU Boys 0 #518 9 12,621
IR Boys 0 #543 10 10,162
HK Boys 0 #554 4 12,905
PS Boys 0 #558 4 10,655
MX Boys 0 #565 514 16,355
Spain Boys 0 #580 389 5,610
CL Boys 0 #583 83 13,390
TN 0 #607 238 13,765
IN Girls 0 #611 21 13,121
SY 0 #621 108 11,684
IL Boys 0 #623 3 10,983
EG Girls 0 #629 357 14,742
SA Girls 0 #648 289 25,931
BR Boys 0 #661 91 12,213
SG Boys 0 #688 10 17,960
IQ Boys 0 #692 6 13,071
QA Boys 0 #696 12 18,093
MA 0 #704 478 20,986
KW Boys 0 #752 18 18,755
IT Boys 0 #762 840 10,046
PE Boys 0 #777 102 14,506
United States Boys 2011 #851 5 7,432
OM Boys 0 #854 28 17,948
Germany Boys 0 #899 54 5,697
DZ 0 #916 262 20,130
EG Boys 0 #917 9 15,035
NG Boys 0 #924 28 16,906
NL Boys 0 #929 23 5,873
TR 0 #979 235 19,440
IN Boys 0 #1,037 3 16,750
AE Boys 0 #1,082 11 22,615
MY Boys 0 #1,086 26 25,439
ZA Boys 0 #1,155 24 25,619
SA Boys 0 #1,594 21 28,008

Laura is popular in 100 countries — most recent births per country:

France
Norway
NL
Ireland
Scotland, United Kingdom

Did we miss something about this name? Let us know!

People also ask about Laura

Laura is predominantly a girl's name.
Laura is a 2 syllable name, pronounced /ˈlɔːrə/ or /ˈlɑːrə/ (LAW-ruh or LAH-ruh); Spanish: /ˈlau̯ɾa/ (LOW-rah).
Common nicknames and spelling variations include Lora, Lara, Lori, Laurie, Lauren and Lauryn.
Across languages, Laura has these equivalents: Laure (French), Laura (Spanish), Laura (Italian), Laura (Portuguese), Laura (Romanian), and 5 more.
Yes, very popular — Laura ranked #1 in Ireland in 2025, and appears in official birth registries across 16 countries.
Laura ranks highest in Ireland (#1 in 2025).
Laura's popularity is holding steady. It moved from #1 in 2015 to #1 in 2025 in Ireland.
Yes — 4 notable people named Laura are in our database, including Laura Bush (Politician), Laura Chinchilla (Politician), Laura Esquivel (Politician).
Yes — at least 4 celebrity couples have chosen Laura for their child, including François Truffaut.