Loretta

Loretta: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “laurel”
Origin: Italian
Say it: lor-ET-uh · 3 syllables
Used for: Girls

Usually treated as an Italian diminutive of Laura or Lauretta, from Latin laurus 'laurel'. It can also function as an independent given name.

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How popular is Loretta?

2024127 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Loretta in 2024422

2024 rank#677 girls

Peak year1938

Total US babies since 1880177,574

Loretta is rising: use over the last five years is 3.0× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Loretta

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Lauralaurel · Latin
Lorifrom Laura or Lorraine · English
Laurielaurel · English
Loralaurel · English
Lorriefrom Laurentum · Latin
Laurettalaurel · Italian
Loriefrom Laurentum; laurel · English
Lurapossibly laurel · Latin

Loretta questions

What does the name Loretta mean?

Loretta means "laurel". It comes from Italian. Usually treated as an Italian diminutive of Laura or Lauretta, from Latin laurus 'laurel'. It can also function as an independent given name.

Is Loretta a boy or girl name?

Loretta is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Loretta?

422 US babies were named Loretta in 2024. Its peak year was 1938.

How do you pronounce Loretta?

Loretta is usually pronounced lor-ET-uh.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.