Given name
Lafe
“one who is on time”
Lafe is used as a given name. One American interpretation is “one who is on time.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One American interpretation is “one who is on time.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is American.
How it developed
In English usage, Lafe is a diminutive of Lafayette.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Lafe through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 696
- 696 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1884
- 17 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #13,115 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 13,115 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 395 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Lafe’s family of names
In English usage, Lafe is a diminutive of Lafayette. Lafe has a related form in Laef. Lafe has a related form in Laefe.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Lafe, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Lum
“pool”
>99% boys
Garfield
“from the spear field”
>99% boys
Grover
“from the grove of trees”
>99% boys
Pembroke
“from the broken hill” · “from the headland”
>99% boys
Pink
“one who is healthy”
97% boys · 3% girls
Labe
“one who moves slowly”
91% boys · 9% girls
Land
“of the earth”
80% boys · 20% girls
Lagrand
“a majestic man”
>99% boys