Laron
A masculine name of uncertain origin, possibly related to Hebrew meaning "to be strong".
Name Census estimates that about 4,978 living Americans carry the first name Laron. It is a predominantly male name (97.8% of registrations). The average person named Laron today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Laron births was 1990 (139 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Laron. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Although Laron is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 119 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
5.0K
~ 1 in 68,854 Americans
Peak year
1990
139 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,791
Tracked since 1915
Census
Laron in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,678 people with the first name Laron, which placed it at #4,876 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#4,876
National first-name rank
People counted
3.7K
3,678 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
82.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laron
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Laron is Black at 82.3%. The next largest groups are White (9.3%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Laron described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Laron at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.3% · 3,027
- White9.3% · 343
- Two or more races4.5% · 164
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 104
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Laron
Laron leans heavily male at 97.8% of total registrations, but 119 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Laron as a male name
- Ranked #4,791 in 2024
- 21 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1990 (139 births)
Laron as a female name
- Ranked #12,705 in 1993
- 6 female births in 1993
- Peak: 1970 (12 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Laron leans strongly male. 3,530 people counted with this name were male (96.1%), compared with 142 female bearers (3.9%).
Popularity
Laron: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Laron from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 1,059 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Laron by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Laron during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Larons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. California, Michigan, Illinois recorded the most babies named Laron, while Tennessee, North Carolina, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 113 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Laron
The name Laron is believed to have its origins in the Hebrew language. It is derived from the Hebrew word "laron," which means "cloak" or "mantle." The name Laron can be traced back to ancient times in the Middle East, particularly in the region of modern-day Israel and the surrounding areas.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Laron can be found in the Hebrew Bible, specifically in the Book of Joshua. In this text, Laron is mentioned as the name of a city located in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim. While it is not clear whether the name of the city was derived from a person or vice versa, this reference suggests that the name Laron has been in use for thousands of years.
In the Middle Ages, the name Laron was relatively uncommon but was still used by some Jewish families. One notable individual with this name was Laron ben Meshullam, a Jewish scholar who lived in the 11th century. He is known for his commentaries on the Talmud and other Jewish texts.
During the Renaissance period, the name Laron gained some popularity among Sephardic Jewish communities in Spain and Portugal. One famous bearer of this name was Laron Abravanel, a prominent Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in the 15th century. He was highly respected for his contributions to Jewish thought and his efforts to promote tolerance and understanding between different religious communities.
In more recent history, the name Laron has been used by individuals from various backgrounds, although it remains relatively uncommon. One notable person with this name was Laron Bright, an American basketball player who played in the NBA in the 1970s and 1980s. He was born in 1949 and is remembered for his successful career with teams like the Seattle SuperSonics and the San Antonio Spurs.
Another individual with the name Laron was Laron D. McKinley, an American businessman and philanthropist who lived from 1934 to 2019. He was the founder of the McKinley Group, a successful real estate development company, and was also known for his charitable work and support for education initiatives.
Laron Hines, an American jazz drummer, was born in 1965 and has enjoyed a successful career as a sideman and bandleader, performing with various jazz artists and ensembles. His name, though uncommon, has become associated with the world of modern jazz music.
While the name Laron may not be as widespread as some other names, it has a rich history and has been borne by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions throughout the centuries. Its Hebrew origins and connections to ancient texts and historical figures add to the cultural significance of this unique name.
People
Laron + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Laron as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Laron: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Laron?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,978 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Laron going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,854 US residents.
Is Laron a common name?
We classify Laron as "Rare". It ranks above 96.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,297 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Laron most popular?
The single biggest year for Laron was 1990, when 139 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Laron is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Laron in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,678 people with the name Laron, or 1.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,876 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Laron in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Laron?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Laron leans strongly male. 3,530 people counted with this name were male (96.1%), compared with 142 female bearers (3.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Laron?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Laron is Black at 82.3%. The next largest groups are White (9.3%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Laron most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Laron in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.3% (3,027 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Laron in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Laron a male name?
Yes, 97.8% of people registered as Laron in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Laron still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Laron in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Laron can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Laron?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.