Girl · German (place name and legend) · International
Lorelai
LorelaiSay it LOR-uh-lye
- Meaning today
- Alluring, temptress
- Original meaning
- "the Lorelei, a cliff on the Rhine; perhaps "lurking rock"" Online Etymology Dictionary, s.v. Lorelei
- Say it
- LOR-uh-lye
- Other spellings
- Lorelei
Lorelai
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Lorelai meaning
Lorelai is an international girl's name of German origin (place name and legend).
Meaning today
Alluring, temptress
Original German (place name and legend) meaning
"the Lorelei, a cliff on the Rhine; perhaps "lurking rock""
Source: Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), s.v. Lorelei · entry Lorelei · See the entry · checked 27 Oct 2026
Lorelai is a spelling of Lorelei, the name of a tall rock on the river Rhine in Germany. The Online Etymology Dictionary takes the second part of the name from a Rhineland dialect word lei, "cliff, rock", and the first perhaps from Middle High German lūren, "to lie in wait". Around 1801 the poet Clemens Brentano created the story of a maiden who became a siren there, and Heinrich Heine's poem of 1824 made her famous for luring boatmen to their doom. That legend is why name lists say "alluring". The spelling Lorelai comes from the heroine of the series Gilmore Girls. It is said LOR-uh-lye.
References: Online Etymology Dictionary, Lorelei · Britannica, Lorelei (German legend) · Wikipedia, Lorelai Gilmore
Popularity abroad
- #333 United States, girls 2025 (up 70 from 403 in 2024)
US Social Security Administration - #807 England and Wales, girls 2025
Office for National Statistics
Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.
Spellings
Lorelai · Lorelei