Lorn
A boy's name of Scottish Gaelic origin with 805 recorded U.S. births.
Meaning & Origin
A suburb of Newcastle in the Maitland council area, New South Wales, Australia.
Lorn is a boy's baby name of Scottish Gaelic origin, from the ancient Scottish district of Lorne in Argyll, whose name may derive from the mythological ancestor Loarn — one of the sons of Erc who led the Scots from Ireland to Dál Riata. The region's name means something like 'fox' in the Gaelic tradition.
Lorn has the spare, Scottish highland quality of single-syllable names rooted in geography and clan history. It is the masculine equivalent of Lorna, which John Gibson Lockhart popularized in the nineteenth century.
EtymologyShow more
Names travel. They cross oceans, change spelling, shift pronunciation, and accumulate new associations with each culture that adopts them. Lorn is rooted in the Scottish Gaelic tradition, but its presence in American naming since 1900 means it has been shaped by English phonetics, local customs, and the cultural context of the families who chose it.
Lorn’s 805 recorded births suggest it has found a niche — possibly within a specific cultural community, region, or naming subculture within the broader American landscape.
At a Glance
Popularity Over Time
Lorn has 76+ years of history in the U.S., first appearing in 1900.
Popularity by Decade
| Decade | Births | Avg Rank | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | #12033 | — |
| 1990s | 5 | #9293 | ▼ |
| 1980s | 35 | #6679 | ▼ |
| 1970s | 77 | #4269 | ▼ |
| 1960s | 105 | #2899 | ▲ |
| 1950s | 102 | #2742 | ▲ |
| 1940s | 100 | #2546 | ▼ |
| 1930s | 119 | #2343 | ▼ |
| 1920s | 171 | #2022 | ▲ |
| 1910s | 75 | #2544 | ▲ |
| 1900s | 11 | #1301 | — |
The Story of Lorn
A Greatest Generation name
Peaking in 1921, Lorn is a name steeped in history. Boys named Lorn are most likely born between 1911 and 1931.
How rare is Lorn?
With 805 total births on record, Lorn remains a rare and distinctive pick.
The journey through the decades
First appeared in the records in 1900, peaked in the 1920s with 171 births that decade, and has since become a rare, vintage choice.
Lorn by the numbers
- Would fill 17 school buses
- Meeting one Lorn per day would take 2.2 years
Year-by-Year Data
View complete yearly data(76 years, 1900–2003)
| Year | Births | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 5 | #12033 |
| 1992 | 5 | #9293 |
| 1989 | 6 | #7544 |
| 1987 | 5 | #7679 |
| 1986 | 6 | #6407 |
| 1985 | 7 | #5520 |
| 1982 | 5 | #6967 |
| 1981 | 6 | #5955 |
| 1979 | 5 | #6659 |
| 1978 | 7 | #4850 |
| 1977 | 7 | #4923 |
| 1976 | 6 | #5348 |
| 1974 | 7 | #4443 |
| 1973 | 12 | #2957 |
| 1972 | 9 | #3513 |
| 1971 | 12 | #2914 |
| 1970 | 12 | #2817 |
| 1969 | 13 | #2498 |
| 1968 | 14 | #2263 |
| 1967 | 8 | #3139 |
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration. Showing years with 5+ recorded births.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data source: U.S. Social Security Administration, 1900–2003