Lorraine
Meaning of Lorraine
Lorraine began as a toponym—literally “from Lorraine,” the storied region in northeastern France once known as Lotharingia, or “the realm of Lothar.” Adopted into English at the close of the 19th century, the name carried a faint scent of continental romance without burdening Anglophone tongues, hence its steady rise stateside until it brushed the American Top 50 in the 1920s. Usage has tapered since, yet roughly 150 U.S. girls still receive the name each year, keeping it on the charts in quiet defiance of trend forecasts. Cultural footnotes are varied: jazz standard “Sweet Lorraine,” actress Lorraine Bracco, and even Back to the Future’s Lorraine Baines add a mix of sophistication, grit, and pop-culture nostalgia. For parents who appreciate a French flourish but prefer their spelling bee drama kept to a minimum, Lorraine offers a pragmatic, time-tested middle path—familiar, unpretentious, and just uncommon enough to earn a second glance.
Pronunciation
English
- Pronunced as luh-RAYN (/ləˈreɪn/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Lorraine
| Lorraine Hansberry was an American playwright and civil rights activist who became the first Black woman to have a play performed on Broadway. |
| Lorraine Bracco is an American actress best known for her roles in The Sopranos and Goodfellas. |
| Lorraine Pascale is a British TV chef and former model whose bestselling cookbooks and shows reach 70 countries, and she is the proud mother of actress Ella Balinska. |
| Lorraine Hunt Lieberson was an American mezzo-soprano celebrated for Baroque and contemporary music who began singing full-time in her thirties after working as a professional violist. |
| Lorraine Clifford-Lee is an Irish Fianna Fail politician who has served as a senator since June 2020. |
| Lorraine Stanley is a British actress best known for playing Kelly in *London to Brighton* and Karen Taylor in *EastEnders*. Note: These roles belong to Lorraine Stanley, not Lorraine Marie Perez, so you may want to double-check the name and hometown before publishing. |
| Lorraine Daston is an American historian of science and philosopher, director emerita of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, and a leading authority on the scientific and intellectual history of early modern Europe. |
| Lorraine Cheshire was an English actress best known for playing Joan Bell in Early Doors and Fleur Budgen in Waterloo Road. |
| Lorraine Broussard Nicholson is an American actress best known for playing Alana Blanchard in the 2011 biographical film Soul Surfer. |
| Lorraine Inouye is a Democratic Hawaii state senator who represents District 4 and, despite sharing a surname, is no relation to U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye. |
| Lorraine Voles is an American political advisor who served as Vice President Kamala Harris's chief of staff from 2022 to 2025. |
| Lorraine Winstanley is an English darts player who won the 2017 World Masters and reached the final of the 2019 BDO World Championship. |
| Lorraine Hunt - Lorraine T. Hunt is an American businesswoman and entertainer who served as Nevada's lieutenant governor from 1999 to 2007. |
| Lorraine Schwartz is an American high jewelry designer whose custom pieces have dazzled stars like Beyoncé and Angelina Jolie. |
