Lorena
Of Spanish origin, meaning "laurel crown" or "victorious."
Name Census estimates that about 30,723 living Americans carry the first name Lorena. It is a predominantly female name (99.5% of registrations). The average person named Lorena today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lorena births was 1980 (835 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lorena. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Lorena with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Lorena is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 219 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
31K
~ 1 in 11,156 Americans
Peak year
1980
835 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
1996 SSA rank
#1,279
Tracked since 1880
Census
Lorena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 61,912 people with the first name Lorena, which placed it at #793 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
#793
National first-name rank
People counted
62K
61,912 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
20.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
83.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lorena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lorena is Hispanic at 83.7%. The next largest groups are White (11.7%) and Black (1.7%). 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 Lorena 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 Lorena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino83.7% · 51,804
- White11.7% · 7,236
- Black or African American1.7% · 1,072
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 1,048
- Two or more races0.6% · 381
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 371
Gender
Gender distribution for Lorena
Out of the 45,000 babies given the name Lorena since 1880, 99.5% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Lorena as a male name
- Ranked #6,877 in 1996
- 8 male births in 1996
- Peak: 1980 (15 births)
Lorena as a female name
- Ranked #1,279 in 2024
- 181 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1980 (820 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lorena appears almost entirely female. Of the 61,919 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Lorena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lorena from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 6,892 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lorena 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 Lorena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lorenas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 44 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Lorena, while South Dakota, New Hampshire, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 811 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lorena
The name Lorena has its origins in the ancient Latin language, deriving from the word "lauretum," which means "laurel grove." It is believed to have been used as early as the Roman Empire, where laurel wreaths were associated with victory, honor, and achievement.
During the Middle Ages, the name Lorena gained popularity across Europe, particularly in regions influenced by Latin cultures. It was often used as a feminine form of the masculine name "Laurentius," which also had roots in the Latin word for laurel.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lorena can be found in the 12th century, when it was used by a noblewoman from the Duchy of Lorraine, which was situated in present-day northeastern France. This region may have played a role in the widespread adoption of the name across Europe.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Lorena. For example, Lorena Hickok (1893-1968) was an American journalist and close friend of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Another prominent figure was Lorena Feitis (1925-2013), a Brazilian actress and singer known for her work in telenovelas and musical theater.
In the realm of literature, Lorena Fontela (1971-) is a renowned Spanish author and poet, known for her works exploring themes of identity and feminism. The name Lorena has also been associated with historical figures like Lorena Bobbit (1970-), an American woman who made headlines in the 1990s for severing her husband's penis after years of alleged abuse.
Additionally, Lorena Ochoa (1981-) is a Mexican professional golfer who achieved numerous accolades, including being ranked as the world's top female golfer for several years and winning two major championships.
These examples illustrate the diverse backgrounds and achievements of individuals who have carried the name Lorena throughout history, highlighting its enduring presence across different cultures and eras.
People
Lorena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lorena 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
Lorena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lorena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 30,723 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lorena 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 11,156 US residents.
Is Lorena a common name?
We classify Lorena as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 45,000 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lorena most popular?
The single biggest year for Lorena was 1980, when 835 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lorena is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lorena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 61,912 people with the name Lorena, or 20.50 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #793 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 Lorena 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 Lorena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lorena appears almost entirely female. Of the 61,919 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Lorena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lorena is Hispanic at 83.7%. The next largest groups are White (11.7%) and Black (1.7%). 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 Lorena most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Lorena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.7% (51,804 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 Lorena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lorena a female name?
Yes, 99.5% of people registered as Lorena in the SSA data are female. 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 Lorena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lorena 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 Lorena 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 people have the name Lorena?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Lorena on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.