Name of the Week: Laurel

 

 

Origin:

Laurel is a the common botanical name given to various flowering plants. Traditionally, the name laurel referred to the bay laurel (Laurus nobilis), an evergreen tree. Now is also commonly used to refer to the cherry laurel as it was popularly used by the nobility in the 18th century to fill out their woods* and this trend filtered down to the middle classes for their garden shrubberies in the 19th century.*  Laurel is also used as part of the common name of several other plants, including Alexandrian laurel, Canary laurel, Hedge laurel, Portugal laurel and Spotted laurel to name a few.  The word laurel derives from the Middle English lorrer via the Old French laurier, lorier, which itself derived from the Latin laurus "bay tree, laurel tree." In ancient Greece and Rome, the leaves of the bay laurel were made into crowns and placed upon the head of a victor in either a competition (athletic or artistic/poetic) or a martial commander. Thus, the laurel became associated as an emblem of victory. The phrase to rest one's laurels comes from the idea that once victory had been achieved, a competitor could relax.  In Victorian floriography, the laurel represents "glory."

Usage:

Laurel predominantly came into use as a given name in the 19th century when plant and gemstone names became fashionable.  There are a handful of examples of the name in use before this. For example, a girl named Laurel Flamont was baptised in Essex in 1624* (perhaps it isn't coincidence that her mother was named Olive) and a Laurel Bennet was born in  Devon in 1682*. Overall, however, these examples are rare. 1901 census - Charlesworth family, London Hampshire Telegraph - Friday 08 November 1935 When we look at 19th century census records, several Laurels were part of botanically-named sibling sets (as with the McKay family) and this was a theme which continued for some families into the 20th century (see images, right). This gives us clues that some of Laurel's appeal was thanks to the fashion for plant names, though the popularity of the likes of Mabel, Ethel, Muriel, Beryl may have helped.  UK census records demonstrate that, initially, Laurel was unisex, but grew in popularity for girls by the end of the century.  1841 census 1851 census 1861 census 1871 census 1881 census 1891 census 1901 census 1911 census 5 females 11 females 8 females 19 females 49 females 68 females 99 females 188 females 4 males 12 males 5 males 16 males 5 males 30 males 29 males 35 males Birth rankings for Laurel (both genders) in England and Wales: 1840s:  1850s 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 9 births 5 births 20 births 19 births 34 births 85 births 90 births 89 births 101 births 105 births 115 births 197 births 169 births British author and explorer Alexander MacDonald had success as the writer and director of silent movies filmed in Papua New Guinea and Australia. He married his leading lady, Australian actress Wendy Osorne, and together they had a daughter named Laurel who even starred in the 1929 film The Kingdom of Twilight* and was mentioned in several articles in the British press at the time. The choice of Laurel was likely due to the couple living in Australia. Anna Otto's data shows that Laurel enjoyed good popularity in early 20th Australia, ranking #85 in the 1920s, #92 in the 1930s and #100 in the 1940s in New South Wales.  Olive Higgins Prouty's 1922 novel Stella Dallas centres on the relationship between Stella Dallas and her daughter Laurel Dallas. The book was turned into a silent film in 1925 and a further film followed in 1937, featuring Anne Shirley in the roll of Laurel, alongside an American radio soap in the same year. It is interesting to note that, in the US, Laurel went from #597 in 1937 to #397 in 1938.  Since 1996, Laurel has remained uncommon in England and Wales, though it has been in consistent usage.  It had been just above the the top 1000 up until 2001 after which it fell below.  In Scotland, since 1990, Laurel has been registered as a given name in 23 out of 26 years. For eleven of those years it was registered for one girl. It peaked in 2014 at #537 with 6 births.  In 2016, Laurel ranked #1472 with 22 births in England and Wales and #1028 with 2 births in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

Contemporary: * Laurel Aitken (1927–2005), born Oliver Stephens, Jamaican singer-songwriter.  * Laurel Burch (1945–2007), American folk artist. * Laurel Clark (1961–2003), American astronaut and doctor. * Laurel Snyder, American poet. * Laurel Arnell-Cullen, British singer-songwriter. Literature and Other Media: * Laurel Dallas, character in the novel and subsequent films Stella Dallas.  * Laurel Darkhaven, character from the comic book series Rising Stars.  * Laurel Gand, also known as Andromeda, a superheroine from DC Comics. * Laurel Kent, a superheroine from DC Comics. * Laurel Lance, a character from Arrow TV series. * Laurel Thomas, character on soap Emmerdale (2002-). * Laurel Gray, a major character in the novel and film adaptation In a Lonely Place.

Variants:

Laurell, Laurelle

Pronunciation:

LOR-əl [key]

Possible  Diminutives:

Laurie, Lolly, Lally, Roly

Sibling Names:

Willa     Robyn     Cassia     Eden     Bryony     Wren  Archer     Keir     Malachy     Kellan     Rowan     Seth

Name Lists:

Arboreal Names

 

If you like Laurel you may also like:   Calla, Briar, Tamsin, Hazel, Juniper, Fern, Lark, Willow, Tara, April

Thanks to Lucinda for requesting this name.