Given name
Lorelei
“murmuring rock or lurking rock”
Lorelei is a feminine given name from German, meaning “murmuring rock or lurking rock.”
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is German.
How it developed
From German Lorelei (“murmuring rock or lurking rock”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1916. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Lorelei through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 18,189
- 0 boys · 18,189 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 716 babies
- 2025
- 699
- #441 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +3%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 699 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 441 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 2.8% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 716 in 2016. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (66). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 13,113 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.
Lorelei’s family of names
Lorelei has a related form in Lura. Lorelei has a related form in Loralee. Lorelei has a related form in Lorilee.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 19
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Lorelei
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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