Lorelei
Top 1000
About Lorelei
The lovely Lorelei, a name from old German legend, was a beautiful Rhine River seductress whose haunting voice led sailors to hazardous rocks that would cause them to be shipwrecked. And this siren image clung to the name for ages.
Lorelei was the name of the gold digger portrayed by Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in 1953, then went underground for half a century before it was popularized by TV's The Gilmore Girls in 2004.
The name itself had a starring role in the show, used for the mother, daughter, and even the grandmother. Spelled Lorelai, the characters used three different nicknames: Rory for the daughter, Lori for the mom, and the seemingly unrelated Trix for grandma.
Beyond the influence of the show, Lorelei is benefiting from the popularity of girls' names starting with L -- and two Ls are even better than one.
As of October 2026, Lorelei ranked #441 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #441 in 2022, Nameberry popularity #183.
Editor's take: The name Lorelei is a girl's name of German origin meaning "alluring, temptress".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #482 | 653 | 365.5 |
| 2015 | #450 | 704 | 394.4 |
| 2016 | #451 | 716 | 404.1 |
| 2017 | #462 | 683 | 395.6 |
| 2018 | #472 | 659 | 387.4 |
| 2019 | #456 | 682 | 406.3 |
| 2020 | #504 | 601 | 371.8 |
| 2021 | #447 | 700 | 426.6 |
| 2022 | #441 | 715 | 435.9 |
| 2023 | #485 | 630 | 392.6 |
| 2024 | #456 | 684 | 422.2 |
| 2025 | #441 | 699 | 434.9 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Lorelei.
Famous Loreleis
- Lorelei Elizabeth King
American actress
- Lorelei Mahoney
American singer and actress
- Lorelei DeCora Means
Native American civil rights activist
- Lorelei Lee
American adult film actress
- Lorelei Lee
ring name of Amy Janas, American pro wrestler
- Lorelei Grace Linklater (b. 1994)
daughter of director Richard Linklater
- Lorelei Judith Krone (b. 2005)
daughter of jockey Julie Krone
- Lorelei Toley (b. 2007)
daughter of bridal designer Claire Pettibone and Guy Patrick Toley
- Lorelei Jade Anderson (b. 2010)
daughter of singer Jessa Anderson
Lorelei in pop culture
- Lorelai Gilmore
two characters in the show Gilmore Girls, a mother and daughter. (Spelling is different, but this is why the name spiked in the 2000s in the US)
- "Die Lorelei
" German poem by Heinrich Heine
- Lorelei
one of the Elite Four trainers in the Pokemon series
- Lorelei
two characters in Marvel comics
- Lorelei Rox
character in Spirit comics
- Lorelei Ambrosia
character in movie "Superman III"
- Lorelei Martins
character on TV's "The Mentalist"
- Lorelei the Chicken
character on TV's "The Electric Company"
- "Lorelei
" song by Styx
- "Lorelei
" song by The Cocteau Twins
- "Lorelei
" song by George and Ira Gershwin
- "Lorelei's Secret" aka "The Dogs of Babel
" novel by Carolyn Parkhurst
- Lorelei
American rock band
- Lorelei
character in MCU Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D
- Lorelei Davis
Joss and Harry's daughter on TV's "Mistresses"
- Lorelei Stafford
Parker, character in Vampire: The Requiem
- Lorelei
character from the picture book Moongirl
- Lorelei
character from "Victor Frankenstein"
- Lorelei
Andy's guitar's name on 'The Office'
- Lorelei Wilkinson
character in television series 'Prisoner Cell Block H'