# Lorelei (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/lorelei/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | German |
| Meaning | “murmuring rock”, “lurking rock” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 18,189 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 0 / 18,189 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 644, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from German Lorelei (“murmuring rock or lurking rock”), but not used as a given name in Germany. The Lorelei (or Lorelei, Loreleï, Lore Lay, Lore-Ley, Lurley, Lurelei, Lurlei) is an infamous maritime disaster site because of the Rhine's current and the surrounding terrain. The shipwrecks have been subject to mythological explanation attempts since around 900 AD.

## What it means

Lorelei is grouped under mountain.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 585 | 503 |
| 2012 | 573 | 529 |
| 2013 | 604 | 497 |
| 2014 | 653 | 482 |
| 2015 | 704 | 450 |
| 2016 | 716 | 451 |
| 2017 | 683 | 462 |
| 2018 | 659 | 472 |
| 2019 | 682 | 456 |
| 2020 | 601 | 504 |
| 2021 | 701 | 447 |
| 2022 | 715 | 442 |
| 2023 | 631 | 485 |
| 2024 | 690 | 454 |
| 2025 | 699 | 441 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 34 | 1,015 |
| 2012 | 39 | 934 |
| 2013 | 27 | 1,253 |
| 2014 | 44 | 859 |
| 2015 | 44 | 845 |
| 2016 | 38 | 955 |
| 2017 | 45 | 855 |
| 2018 | 38 | 952 |
| 2019 | 46 | 806 |
| 2020 | 25 | 1,267 |
| 2021 | 32 | 1,069 |
| 2022 | 32 | 1,058 |
| 2023 | 33 | 1,030 |
| 2024 | 39 | 918 |
| 2025 | 28 | 1,166 |

## People named Lorelei

- Lorelei Lee, American pornographic film actor and writer (born 1981/1982)
- Lorelei Linklater, American actress

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.