The Baby Name Wizard

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Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name Laura!

Comments and insights on the name Laura: | Edit

Graced with this name by my older sister, I used to hate it. Now, I realize how lucky I am to have something so completely timeless. I will admit that I don't think the name Laura conjures up images of pigtails and frilly pink dresses but it will definitely age well.

Laura was the "We both like it and can't find anything wrong with it" compromise name that has happily grown with me. The only drawbacks? Kids have trouble with 'L's or 'R's. My brother couldn't say 'r's as a kid and I got "Lola". It's been my nickname for 39 of 41 years. It's a lovely name in full. Frilly, but not too much so and still strong and completely feminine. It's been a pleasure to be named Laura.

I can really relate to the L's-and-R's issue! I was born in 1965 and given that name at the height of its huge swell of popularity. As I grew up, I noticed, with growing irritation, two things: one was that when teachers would call on me in class, there would always be at least one other Laura and quite often, TWO other Lauras that also thought they were being called on. This made for a distinct sense of non-uniqueness, which I think I set about to make up for by being as weird and offbeat as I could be in every other way. The other annoyance was phonics-based. My last name being "Carlson", I noticed that it sounded like a whole handful of marbles was rolling around in the mouth of anyone who spoke my full name. Unfortunately this tended to sound exactly like a recurring speech impediment in developmentally-disabled people. That is the kind of thing that mean kids that liked to pick on me jumped ALL over. As soon as I was away from home in college, I immediately changed my name to "Demimonde". A name is more important than most people realise. It's not just a person's identity; it is the very syllables that summon that person's attention, all through the years of his or her life! If you don't like how your own name sounds, you are going to end up possibly not feeling as good about yourself as you should. Make sure you give your child a euphonious name. And if s/he ends up finding it unsuitable, hopefully you'll do as my own dear mother has done for me. She calls me by the name I gave myself. It's really a very high honour.

Before I was born my parents were hippies, and they believed I was suppose to be the next messiah. They stuck there fingers ina name book and landed ona boys name Cosmos ( no offense to those out there named Cosmos, but yuck) anyway...I was going to be Cosmos Hagood, but when I came out of the womb breach, and everyone knew I was a girl, I got to be Laura Kathryn, instead. These are both of my grandmother's names, because I am the first of 3 daughters. I feel so blessed and connected to my grandmother's being named after them. I am turning 28 in less then two weeks, and they are both still alive. I talk to them regularly and feel very special,because I have a name sake. I used to be indifferent about my name until High school, now I feel like my name is perfect for me,a nd I love how it looks hand written. Laura is a beautiful name, passed thorugh generations in my family. :)

I was named Laura to continue a line of Lau- names that goes back three generations. My great-grandfather was Laurence Roland, his daughter, my great-aunt was Nancy Laurette and my aunt is Lauraine Clare. Unfortunately Laurence and Nancy both passed before my grandmother married and neither my aunt or myself was able to meet them. My middle name, Elizabeth, was the middle name of both my great-grandmothers on my mother's side. I am proud of my name heritage and although I have been in school, college, church and work with other Laura's I would not change my name for anything.

I am a Laura too. I was named after my aunt, who is also a Laura. -sigh- My mom expected me to be a boy, because appartently everyone on my dad's side of the family are boys, I have 3 older brothers. I was supposed to be something like "Stormy Moody Miles", "Samson Holy Ghost Gary", "Steven Gary", Idk. :) I turned out to be a girl, and my mom didn't have ANY girl names in store, so she looked at the two girls in the delivery room, Laura, her sister and Lois, her mom, and named me Laura Lois. Now in the family, I'm Little Laura, Laura Lois, Pumpkin or Baby :) Lol. I don't mind my name, because out a huge school of about 3,000 kids, I am the only Laura :) Suprising, eh? There arnt any lowerclassmen that are named Laura, either. A handful of Laurens, even Loreenas, no Lauras :) I can just write "Laura" on all my homework sheets :) I plan on using Laura as my daughters middle name (if I have one).

I really came to appreciate being named Laura as I noticed young women being discounted who had names that made them sound childish: Cathy, Katie, Stacy, etc. I made a note to avoid naming a girl with a minimizing name/nickname. I never answered to Laurie, and no one tries to call me Laurie now that I'm an adult.

Personal experiences with the name Laura: | Edit

I named my daughter Laura because it is a beautiful name, but also because it is nearly impossible to misspell or mispronounce. I spent my entire childhood answering to various incorrect pronounciations of my name and always having to sepll my name for people.

Nicknames for Laura: | Edit

Laurie, Lori, Lau, Lolly, Lola, Loz, Laus, Lozzy, Lausie, Lara, Lorelei, Lala.

Meanings and history of the name Laura: | Edit

The source of this name is laurus, a Latin word meaning "the bay -- or laurel -- plant." The name is used in German, Dutch, English, Italian, French, Spanish, Finnish, Polish and Czech.

Famous real-life people named Laura: | Edit

Laura, inspiration and muse of the Italian poet Petrarch
Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the "Little House on the Prairie" books
Laura Dern, American actress
Laura Brannigan, American singer
Laura Nyro, American singer
Laura Lane Welsh Bush, First Lady and wife of George W. Bush
Laura Prepon, American actress
Laura Hope Crews, American actress
"Dr. Laura" Schlessinger, conservative talk show host
Laura Linney, American actress
Laura Z. Hobson, American author
Laura Esquivel, Mexican author
Laura Bush, former American First Lady
Laura Ashley, Welsh designer
Laura Wattenberg, site owner :)
Laura Omloop, Dutch child singer

Laura in song, story & screen: | Edit

The Eyes of Laura Mars, American film
Laura, American film
"Tell Laura I Love Her," American song
"Laura," a song by David Raksin and Johnny Mercer adapted from the 1944 film's theme
"Laura," a parody of the 1945 song performed by Spike Jones and His Other Orchestra
"Laura," the first charting single by American alternative band Scissor Sisters in 2003
"Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)," a 1976 song by Kenny Rogers
"Laura Non C'è," a song by the Italian singer Nek in 1997
"Laura," a song performed by Billy Joel on his album The Nylon Curtain
"Laura," a song by the Celtic-Punk band Flogging Molly
"Laura," a song by the British shoegazing band Lush
"Laura," a song by the tejano band Mazz
"Laura," a 1986 song composed by Jean-Jacques Goldman
"Laura's dream," a song by Astor Piazzolla from the album The New Tango
"Think of Laura," a song by the American singer/songwriter Christopher Cross in 1983
"Goodnight, Laura," a song by the American band Spoon
Laura Webber Spencer, of Luke & Laura from the soap "General Hospital"
Laura Palmer, the mystery girl from "Twin Peaks"
Laura Winslow, a character on the '90s sitcom "Family Matters"
Laura Hardy, mother from the Hardy Boys series
Laura Haruna, Hamtaro's owner in the anime "Hamtaro"