Lorraine
Lorraine was the 1044th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 238 babies. Its best year was 1928, when it ranked 39th with 5,982 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 680 places. More babies were named Lorraine in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning from the region of Lorraine · French, Germanic
Say it luh-RAYN /ləˈɹeɪn/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,044 girls, up 350 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 238girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19285,982 babies
- Total since 1880
- 210,845babies recorded
What does the name Lorraine mean?
Lorraine is the French region, from Old French Loherraine, Latin Lotharingia, 'land of Lothair', named after the Frankish king Lothair II, as Wiktionary notes. Lothair is a Germanic name from hlūd 'famous' and hari 'army'. As a given name it was associated by folk etymology with Laura. Joan of Arc, born in Lorraine, gave it Catholic associations. It was popular in the US in the 1920s.
Lotharingia (Medieval Latin, “land of Lothair”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Other explanations you may read: A form of Laura.
Related names: Loraine, Lori, Laraine.
See also: French names, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Lorraine', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (our computation), SSA (public domain)
Nicknames for Lorraine
The usual nicknames for Lorraine are Lori. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Lorraine in the last five years, 78 were named Lori, against 173 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lori · also for Laura, Lorelai, Lorelei | Traditional | #1,726 | 709 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Lorraines go by each one.
Lorraine popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 935 since 1901.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,044 | 238 |
| 2020 | #1,394 | 157 |
| 2010 | #2,329 | 82 |
| 2000 | #1,213 | 164 |
| 1990 | #654 | 341 |
| 1980 | #431 | 502 |
| 1970 | #263 | 1,159 |
| 1960 | #135 | 3,338 |
| 1950 | #105 | 3,344 |
| 1940 | #95 | 2,579 |
| 1930 | #46 | 5,166 |
| 1920 | #70 | 3,928 |
| 1910 | #210 | 310 |
| 1900 | #302 | 118 |
| 1890 | #530 | 25 |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Lorraine, counting every spelling?
Lorraine is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #937 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #1,044 for Lorraine on its own. Together these spellings went to 263 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lorraine | 238 | #1,044 | 904 |
| Loraine | 25 | #5,173 | 108 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Lorraine?
238 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Lorraine (0.07 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Lorraine born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 35 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Lorraine.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Lorraine?
About 88,900 people born in the US named Lorraine are alive today, with a median age of 70; half are between 61 and 78. That makes Lorraine a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Lorraine by state
How common Lorraine was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Minnesota (3.1×), Wisconsin (2.0×), Virginia (1.7×), Washington (1.6×). In 28 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Lorraine: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Lorraine, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Lorraine · Sibling names for Lorraine
Questions about the name Lorraine
What does Lorraine mean?
Lorraine means “from the region of Lorraine” (French, Germanic origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Lorraine?
Lorraine was the 1044th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 238 babies. Its best year was 1928, when it ranked 39th with 5,982 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 680 places. More babies were named Lorraine in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Lorraine a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Lorraine in the US.
Where is Lorraine most popular?
In 2021–2025, Lorraine was most common in Minnesota (0.34 per 1,000 girls), followed by Wisconsin and Virginia.