Laura (given name)
Laura | |
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Laurel wreaths are traditionally a symbol of honor and victory. | |
Pronunciation |
|
Gender | Female |
Origin | |
Word/name | Italy |
Meaning | Laurus nobilis |
Region of origin | Latin Europe |
Other names | |
Related names | Laure, Lauren, Laurie, Lori, Laurel, Laurelle, Lara, Lora, Larissa |
Laura de Noves, the subject of love poetry by Petrarch |
Look up Laura in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Laura is a female given name in Latin, Western Europe and North America whose meaning ("Bay Laurel") translates to victor, and an early hypocorism from Laurel and Lauren.[1][2][3]
Origin and usage
The name Laura is the feminized form of laurus, Latin for "bay laurel plant", which in the Greco-Roman era was used as a symbol of victory, honor or fame. The name represents the embodiment of victory and strength. The name Daphne, derived from Ancient Greek, carries the same meaning.
Popularity
In British North America, it is very likely that the name Laura was extremely popular for female newborns until its rapid decline starting in the late 19th century. The name Laura was among the top 40 names for female newborns for much of the late 19th century in the United States until it dropped off the chart in 1899 at #43. The overall highest known rank for the name Laura in the 19th century was #17 in the years 1880 and 1882 with the male name Samuel. Running up, the name Laura in the 19th century was #19 in 1881 and 1883 with the male name Louis. The name Laura was among the top 50 names for female newborns for much of the early 20th century in the United States, but dropped to the top 100-120 by the 1930s-40s, then rebounded to the top 20 in 1984-1986, and has since steadily decreased in popularity. The overall highest known rank for the name Laura in the 20th century is #10 in 1969 with the male name Richard. The latest highest known rank for the name Laura in the 20th century is #14 in 1985 with the male name Jason. The name Laura was the most rare in the years 1887, 1888, 1890, 1891, 1893, 1897, 1898, 1905, 1963, and 1968.
In Europe, the name Laura remains as popular as it was in the past. In the early 21st century in the late 2000s, it ranked within the top 10 in countries such as Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Greenland, Luxembourg, Spain, and Switzerland.[4]
The name is occasionally confused or conjoined with the name Lara (pronounced LAR-ruh) which is a totally different name and is listed separately on name popularity lists.
Variants
- Lára: Icelandic
- Lara: Turkish
- Laoura (Λάουρα): Greek
- Laura: Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish
- Laurica: Russian
- Laure: French
- Lavra: Slovene
- Lora: English
- Lowri: Welsh
Namesakes
- No surname
- Emma Laura, Mexican actress
- Laura de Noves, the subject of love poetry by Petrarch
- Saint Laura, Spanish martyr
- Celebrities
- Laura Ashley, Welsh fashion designer
- Laura Biagiotti, Italian fashion designer
- Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States from January 20, 2001 to January 20, 2009
- Laura Calder, Canadian chef and host of program French Food at Home, from Food Network Canada
- Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author of Little House on the Prairie
- Laura Mercier, French make-up artist in the cosmetics business
- Laura Schlessinger, American radio talk show host known as Dr. Laura
- Laura Secord, Canadian heroine in the War of 1812
- Laura Thompson, CBC News anchor
- Laura Hoek, Aussie of the Month winner, April 2008
- Entertainers
- L'Aura, Italian singer
- Laura Bailey (model), English model
- Laura Bailey (voice actress), American voice actress
- Laura Birn, Finnish actress
- Laura Branigan, American singer
- Laura Bryan Birn, American actress
- Laura Bell Bundy, American actress
- Laura Carmichael, English actress
- Laura Cosoi, Romanian actress
- Laura Dern, American actress
- Laura Jane Grace, American singer for the band Against Me!
- Laura Linney, American actress
- Laura Marano, American actress and singer
- Laura Marling, English singer
- Laura Morante, Italian actress
- Laura Neiva, Brazilian actress
- Laura Nyro, American singer-songwriter
- Laura Omloop, Belgian singer, yodeler and Junior Eurovision representative
- Laura Katherine Parkinson, English actress and comedian, The IT Crowd
- Laura Pausini, Italian singer-songwriter
- Laura Põldvere, Estonian singer
- Laura Prepon, American actress, That '70s Show
- Laura Stoica, Romanian singer and actress
- Laura Vandervoort, Canadian actress
- Antonia Laura Thomas, English actress
- Law
- Laura Codruţa Kövesi, former Prosecutor-General of Romania
- Politics
- Laura Chinchilla, president of Costa Rica
- Laura Pollán, Cuban dissident
- Fictional characters
- Laura, an anesthesiologist from the television series In Treatment
- Laura, the protagonist of the D (series) video game franchise
- Laura, a young girl in the Silent Hill video game franchise
- Laura, a female lead character in Brick
- Laura Bristow, an alias for Irina Derevko, the mother of Sydney Bristow on the television series Alias
- Laura Hardy (Hardy Boys), mother from the Hardy Boys series of books
- Laura Horton, a former character on the soap opera Days of Our Lives
- Laura Hunt, the protagonist of Otto Preminger's Laura (1944 film).
- Laura Kinney, also known as X-23, a Marvel Comics character
- Laura Palmer, from the television series Twin Peaks
- Laura Parker, an English model in Sarra Manning's Fashionistas book series.
- Laura Roslin, from the reimagined television series Battlestar Galactica
- Laura Spencer (General Hospital), a character on the soap opera General Hospital
- Laura Winslow, a character from the American sitcom Family Matters
- Laura Gauthier, a recurring character from the popular ongoing French TV series, Code Lyoko Evolution.
- Laure Berthaud, main character of French crime series Engrenages
- Science and technology
- 467 Laura, 1901 asteroid
- Tropical Storm Laura, 1971
- Sports
- Laura Robson, British tennis player
- Laura Douglas, Welsh hammer thrower
Name days
- January 15: Sweden
- January 18: Estonia, Finland
- January 22: France
- April 18: Latvia
- June 1: Czech Republic
- June 5: Slovakia, Slovenia
- June 17: Hungary, Lithuania, Poland
- August 10: Austria, Germany
- October 19: Lithuania, Italy
See also
- Laura (disambiguation)
- Wikipedia articles that start with Laura
References
External links
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