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.
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.
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.
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.
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
No surname
Laura Gomez, Filipino, Bisaya, Bisdak, Gwapa
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 Brown (fashion journalist), American fashion journalist
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 Deming, American scientist
Laura Eldridge, American women's health writer and activist
Laura Goode, American novelist
Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author of Little House on the Prairie
Laura J. Burns, American author
Laura Lang, American businesswoman
Laura Ling, American journalist
Laura Mancinelli, Italian author
Laura Mercier, French make-up artist in the cosmetics business
Laura Miller (journalist), Scottish broadcast journalist
Laura Miller (writer), American author
Laura Neri, Italian-Greek director
Laura Schlessinger, American radio talk show host known as Dr. Laura
Laura Schwartz, American political commentator
Laura Secord, Canadian heroine in the War of 1812
Laura Thompson, CBC News anchor
Laura Trant, British journalist
Entertainers
L'Aura, Italian singer
Laura Allen, American actress
Laura Bailey (model), English model
Laura Bailey (voice actress), American voice actress
Laura Benanti, American actress
Laura Bertram, Canadian actress
Laura Birn, Finnish actress
Laura Branigan, American singer
Laura Breckenridge, American actress
Laura Bryan Birn, American actress
Laura Bryna, American country music singer
Laura Bell Bundy, American actress
Laura Carmichael, English actress
Laura Christensen, Danish actress
Laura Cosoi, Romanian actress
Laura Dern, American actress
Laura Dickinson, American actress
Laura Donnelly (actress), British actress
Laura Fygi, Dutch singer
Laura Gemser, Indonesian-Dutch actress
Laura Gómez (actress), American actress
Laura Harring, Mexican-American actress
Laura Hope Crews, American actress
Laura Innes, American actress
Laura Izibor, Irish musician
Laura Jane Grace, American singer for the band Against Me!
Laura Johnson, American actress
Laura Jane Laughlin, Irish actress
Laura Linney, American actress
Laura Macfarlane, Scottish musician, singer and songwriter
Laura Main, Scottish actress
Laura Marano, American actress and singer
Laura Marling, English singer
Laura Mennell, Canadian actress
Laura Morante, Italian actress
Laura Neiva, Brazilian actress
Laura Nyro, American singer-songwriter
Laura Okmin, American sportscaster and NFL on Fox sideline reporter
Laura Omloop, Belgian singer, yodeler and Junior Eurovision representative
Laura Osnes, American actress
Laura Pausini, Italian singer-songwriter
Laura Põldvere, Estonian singer
Laura Prepon, American actress, That '70s Show
Laura Ramsey, American actress
Laura Regan, Canadian actress
Laura Rutledge, American Beauty pageant titleholder, American sportscaster and ESPN College Football sideline reporter
Laura San Giacomo, American actress
Laura Sánchez (model), Spanish model
Laura Spencer (actress) (born 1986), American actress
Laura Stoica, Romanian singer and actress
Laura Vandervoort, Canadian actress
Laura Veirs, American singer-songwriter
Laura Whitmore, Irish presenter
Laura Wright, American actress
Law
Laura Codruţa Kövesi, former Prosecutor-General of Romania
Laura E. Gómez, law professor of University of New Mexico
Laura Wasser, American attorney
Laura Gabriela, Romanian Professional Dancer
Politics
Laura Chinchilla, 49th President of Costa Rica
Laura Kelly, Democratic Member of Kansas
Laura Miller, 58th Mayor of Dallas
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 Alden, a character in Wolf
Laura Bristow, an alias for Irina Derevko, the mother of Sydney Bristow on the television series Alias
Laura Diamond, protagonist of the television series The Mysteries of Laura
Laura Hardy (Hardy Boys), mother from the Hardy Boys series of books
Laura Haruna (aka Hiroko), a character from the anime series Hamtaro
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 incomplete 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 Benkarth, German footballer and goalkeeper
Laura Berg, American head college softball coach
Laura Brown (cyclist), Canadian cyclist
Laura Brown (golfer), American golfer
Laura Davies, English golfer
Laura Davies (bodybuilder), Canadian bodybuilder
Laura Davis (swimmer), American female medley swimmer
Laura Davis (volleyball), American volleyball player
Laura Douglas (athlete), Welsh hammer thrower
Laura Gil, Spanish basketball player
Laura Gómez (judoka), Spanish judoka
Laura Hodges, Australian professional basketball player
Laura Nicholls (basketball), Spanish basketball player
Laura Nicholls (swimmer), Canadian former competition swimmer
Laura Quevado, Spanish basketball player
Laura Robson, British tennis player
Laura Sánchez (diver), Mexican diver
Laura Sánchez (swimmer), Mexican swimmer
Laura Siegemund, German tennis player
Laura Stockdale, English footballer
Laura Zeng, American gymnast
Laura del Colle, Argentine floor hockey player
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
A potato. See Laura potato
