Pronunciation | English: /ˈlɔːrə/ LOR-ə German: [ˈlaʊʁa] Italian: [ˈlaura] Spanish: [ˈlawɾa] French: [lɔʁa,loʁa] |
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Gender | Female |
Name day | April 18, October 19 |
Origin | |
Word/name | Italy |
Meaning | Laurus nobilis |
Region of origin | Latin Europe |
Other names | |
Related names | Lauraina, Lauraine, Laure, Lauren, Lauranna, Lauriana (or Laurianna), Laurie, Lori, Laurel, Laurielle, Lara, Lora, Larissa, Laurissa, Laureen Laurentius |
Laura de Noves, the subject of love poetry by Petrarch |
Laura is a traditionally feminine given name in Europe and the Americas, of Latin origin, whose meaning ("bay laurel") is a metonym for a victor, and an early hypocorism from Laurel and Lauren. [1] [2] [3]
The name Laura is the feminized form of laurus, Latin for "bay laurel plant", which in the Greco-Roman era was used as a symbol of victory, honor or fame. The name represents the embodiment of victory and strength. The name Daphne , derived from Ancient Greek, carries the same meaning.
In British North America, the name Laura reached 17th most popular in 1880 and 1882, but dropped to #43 in 1899. It was among the top 50 names for female newborns for much of the early 20th century in the United States, but dropped to No.100–120 between 1930 and 1950; reached No.10 in 1969, and has since steadily decreased in popularity.
In Europe, Laura remains popular. In 2009 it ranked within the top 10 in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Greenland, Luxembourg, Spain, and Switzerland.
Laura is occasionally conflated with Lara, which has different origins and is listed separately on name popularity lists.
Christian name days for Laura:
Alexandra is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander. Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb ἀλέξειν and ἀνήρ. Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "protector of man". The name Alexandra was one of the epithets given to the Greek goddess Hera and as such is usually taken to mean "one who comes to save warriors". The earliest attested form of the name is the Mycenaean Greek 𐀀𐀩𐀏𐀭𐀅𐀨, written in the Linear B syllabic script. Alexandra and its masculine equivalent, Alexander, are both common names in Greece as well as countries where Germanic, Romance, and Slavic languages are spoken.
Maria is a feminine given name. It is given in many languages influenced by Christianity.
Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning as of light. Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lucie, Lucia, and Luzia.
Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both.
Samantha is a feminine given name.
Eva is a female given name, the Latinate counterpart of English Eve, which is derived from the Hebrew חַוָּה (Chava/Hava), meaning "life" or "living one", the name of the first woman according to the Hebrew Bible. It can also mean full of life or mother of life. It is the standard biblical form of Eve in many European languages. Evita is a diminutive form, in Spanish.
Bella is a feminine given name. It is a diminutive form of names ending in -bella. Bella is related to the Italian, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese and Latin words for beautiful, and to the name Belle, meaning beautiful in French.
Hannah, also spelled Hanna, Hana, Hanah, or Chana, is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin. It is derived from the root ḥ-n-n, meaning "favour" or "grace". A Dictionary of First Names attributes the name to a word meaning 'He (God) has favoured me with a child'. Anne, Ana, Ann, and other variants of the name derive from the Hellenized Hebrew: Anna (Ἅννα)
Anita is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are now common worldwide, especially in regions where Indo-European languages are spoken, namely Europe, South Asia, North America.
Monica is a female given name with many variant forms, including Mónica, Mônica, Monique (French), Monika, Moonika (Estonia), and Mónika (Hungarian).
Anna is a feminine given name, the Latin form of the Greek: Ἄννα and the Hebrew name Hannah, meaning "favour" or "grace".
Emily is a feminine given name derived from the Roman family name "Aemilius", and is the feminine form of the name Emil.
Jane is a feminine given name. It is the English form of Jehanne, the Old French feminine form of Iohannes, a Latin form of the Greek name Ἰωάννης (Iōannēs), which is ultimately derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (Yochanan), a short form of the name יְהוֹחָנָן (Yehochanan), meaning "Yahweh is merciful".
Irene, sometimes written Irini, is derived from εἰρήνη, the Greek word for "peace". Eirene was the Greek goddess of peace. Irene was also the name of an 8th-century Byzantine empress, as well as the name of several saints.
Alexis is a given name of Greek origin. Like the name Alexander, Alexis derives from the Greek verb: ἀλέξειν, romanized: aléxein, lit. 'defend'.
Lara is a feminine given name or a surname in several languages. It can be used as a short form of the name Larissa. It was popularized in the Anglosphere by a character in the 1965 film Dr. Zhivago.
Emilia is a feminine Italian given name of Latin origin. The name is popular all over Europe and the Americas. The corresponding masculine name is Emilio. Emily is the English form of the Italian name.
Nina is a feminine given name with various origins and alternate spellings accordingly. Nina may also serve as a short form of names ending in "-nina/-ina", such as Clementina, Christina, or Giannina. It serves as a diminutive of the variation of nevertheless original form of Hebrew name, “Johannah”, or “Joanina”.
Claudia is a female given name equivalent to Claudius or Claudio. In Portuguese, it is accented Cláudia. A variant and cognate form is Klaudia. It was originally used to refer to any woman who belonged to the ancient Roman Claudia gens. Claudia is a common name in countries that speak Germanic languages and Romance languages.
Veronica is a female given name, a Latin alteration of the Greek name Berenice (Βερενίκη), which in turn is derived from the Macedonian form of the Athenian Φερενίκη, Phereníkē, or Φερονίκη, Pheroníkē, from φέρειν, phérein, to bring, and νίκη, níkê, "victory", i.e. "she who brings victory".