Lorna
A feminine name of uncertain origin, perhaps derived from a Gaelic word meaning "fox".
Name Census estimates that about 15,114 living Americans carry the first name Lorna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lorna today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lorna births was 1957 (758 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lorna. 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 Lorna with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
15K
~ 1 in 22,678 Americans
Peak year
1957
758 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
1966 SSA rank
#3,194
Tracked since 1885
Census
Lorna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 26,131 people with the first name Lorna, which placed it at #1,363 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
#1,363
National first-name rank
People counted
26K
26,131 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
8.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lorna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lorna is White at 59.2%. The next largest groups are Black (18.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (13.2%). 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 Lorna 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 Lorna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.2% · 15,457
- Black or African American18.2% · 4,744
- Asian and Pacific Islander13.2% · 3,447
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 1,435
- Two or more races3.0% · 780
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 268
Gender
Gender distribution for Lorna
Out of the 28,497 babies given the name Lorna since 1880, 99.9% 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.
Lorna as a male name
- Ranked #4,301 in 1966
- 5 male births in 1966
- Peak: 1942 (7 births)
Lorna as a female name
- Ranked #3,194 in 2024
- 50 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1957 (758 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lorna appears almost entirely female. Of the 26,130 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Lorna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lorna from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 6,649 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lorna 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 Lorna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lornas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 48 states and territories. California, New York, Michigan recorded the most babies named Lorna, while Wyoming, Arkansas, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 477 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lorna
The name Lorna originated in Scotland, deriving from a Scots Gaelic word meaning "fortune" or "prosperous." It is believed to have first appeared in written records during the medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Lorna was a Scottish noblewoman named Lorna of Argyll, who lived in the late 15th century. She was a prominent figure in the court of King James IV of Scotland.
In literature, the name gained popularity after the publication of the novel "Lorna Doone" by Richard Doddridge Blackmore in 1869. The book's titular character, Lorna Doone, was a strong and virtuous heroine, which likely contributed to the name's appeal.
Another notable Lorna in history was Lorna Hodgkinson, a British journalist and author born in 1957. She wrote extensively on food, travel, and environmental issues, and her works included "Hearth and Home" and "The Complete Homebrew Beer Book."
In the world of entertainment, Lorna Luft, born in 1952, is a prominent figure. She is an American actress, singer, and author, best known for being the daughter of legendary entertainers Judy Garland and Sid Luft. Lorna has appeared in numerous stage productions and television shows throughout her career.
Lorna Sass, born in 1938, is a renowned American cookbook author and expert on plant-based cooking. Her influential works, such as "Lorna Sass' Complete Vegetarian Kitchen," have helped popularize vegetarian cuisine and promote healthy eating habits.
While the name Lorna has roots in Scotland, it has gained worldwide recognition and has been used across various cultures and regions. Its meaning of "fortune" or "prosperity" has likely contributed to its enduring appeal throughout history.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Lorna
People
Lorna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lorna 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
Lorna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lorna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 15,114 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lorna 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 22,678 US residents.
Is Lorna a common name?
We classify Lorna as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 28,497 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lorna most popular?
The single biggest year for Lorna was 1957, when 758 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lorna is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lorna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 26,131 people with the name Lorna, or 8.65 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,363 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 Lorna 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 Lorna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lorna appears almost entirely female. Of the 26,130 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Lorna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lorna is White at 59.2%. The next largest groups are Black (18.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (13.2%). 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 Lorna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lorna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.2% (15,457 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 Lorna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lorna a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Lorna 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 Lorna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lorna 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 Lorna 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 Lorna as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.