Twenty-six years after Gilmore Girls premiered, one of Stars Hollow’s most beloved names is appearing on birth certificates across America.
Lorelai (pronunciation law·ruh·lai) is climbing fast up the list of America’s most popular baby names, reaching its highest ranking in decades. It’s a distinctive name most people still associate with one place — Stars Hollow, the fictional Connecticut town at the center of the show.
Lauren Graham played Lorelai Gilmore, the fiercely independent mother at the heart of Gilmore Girls. Alexis Bledel starred as her daughter, who was also named Lorelai but known to everyone as Rory. Many of the parents naming babies today grew up watching Lorelai and Rory themselves, and now they’re passing that same love for the show on, both to their kids and, in a growing number of cases, straight into their birth certificates. That relationship gives parents two possible nicknames for a daughter named Lorelai — Lori, Lora, or Rory, connecting her to both generations of Gilmore women.
The Gilmore Girls Baby Name Climbing the Charts
(Photo by Warner Bros./Delivered by Online USA)
Lorelai has become one of the fastest-rising names for newborn girls in the United States. Baby registry platform Babylist recently highlighted the name as a trending choice. The official Social Security Administration rankings show that Lorelai reached No. 333 among girls’ names in 2025. It ranked No. 403 one year earlier, meaning it climbed 70 places.
That ranking does not mean 333 out of every 1,000 babies received the name. It means Lorelai was the 333rd most frequently chosen name for girls born in the United States during 2025. The SSA compiles its annual list using information submitted by families when they apply for Social Security numbers for their newborns.
How Popular Is the Name Lorelai?
A total of 926 baby girls were named Lorelai in 2025, up from 786 in 2024, according to Nameberry’s review of SSA data. The alternative spelling Lorelei is also gaining ground. It rose 13 positions, moving from No. 454 in 2024 to No. 441 in 2025. The government data does not explain why parents selected a particular name, so it cannot confirm that every new Lorelai was named after the show. Still, the timing makes the connection difficult to miss.
Fans regularly discuss the name on parenting forums, while social media is filled with children whose rooms, clothes, and birthday parties carry a Stars Hollow theme.
Lorelai and Rory Remain Beloved TV Names
The original series ran for seven seasons before wrapping in 2007. Netflix later brought the cast back for the 2016 revival Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, keeping the characters in the public conversation well beyond the show’s original run.
The series premiered in 2000, but streaming has kept it alive for one generation of new viewers after another. For longtime fans, Lorelai offers something few TV-inspired names can match — it’s recognizable without feeling ordinary, comes with several nickname options, and carries a small piece of Stars Hollow into a new generation.
