Meaning and history
Lorelei comes from German Loreley, a rock headland on the Rhine whose meaning is uncertain, though its second element probably derives from old German ley, "rock," of Celtic origin. Beginning with Clemens Brentano in 1801, German Romantic writers portrayed Lorelei as a maiden whose song lures boaters to their deaths. The name has occasionally been used in English since the early 20th century and rose in America after the variant Lorelai was given to two central characters in Gilmore Girls (2000-2007).
20062006: 380 births, rank #734
2007: 431 births, rank #681
2008: 446 births, rank #681
2009: 504 births, rank #597
2010: 548 births, rank #535
20112011: 585 births, rank #502
2012: 573 births, rank #528
2013: 604 births, rank #496
2014: 653 births, rank #482
2015: 704 births, rank #449
20162016: 716 births, rank #450
2017: 683 births, rank #462
2018: 659 births, rank #472
2019: 682 births, rank #456
2020: 601 births, rank #504
20212021: 701 births, rank #446
2022: 715 births, rank #441
2023: 631 births, rank #485
2024: 690 births, rank #454
20252025: 699 births, rank #441
Lorelei rose from #454 to #441 for girls between 2024 and 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 2016, with 716 births.