UK girl's name
Lourdes
A feminine name of French origin referring to a Christian Catholic site of pilgrimage.
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Lourdes is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Lourdes popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #3015, with 8 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2011, with 14 births.
This profile covers 185 England and Wales registrations across 23 recorded years from 1999 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 57% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 184 living people in the UK are called Lourdes. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Lourdes ranked #3015 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 8 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2011, when 14 girls were registered as Lourdes.
- • About 184 living people in the UK are estimated to have Lourdes as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#3015
2024
Births in 2024
8
Latest year
Peak year
2011
14 births
Estimated living
184
2026
Meaning
What does Lourdes mean?
The name Lourdes finds its origins in the Pyrenees region of southwestern France. It is derived from the Occitan words "lor" meaning "this" and "de" meaning "the," referring to the grotto at the town of Lourdes where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a young girl named Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.
The Marian apparitions at Lourdes have made the town a significant place of pilgrimage for Catholics worldwide. The name Lourdes became popular after these events, as a way to honor the Virgin Mary and the miracles attributed to the location.
While the name Lourdes does not appear in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been closely associated with the Catholic faith and the veneration of the Virgin Mary since the 19th century.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Lourdes is Saint Bernadette Soubirous herself (1844-1879), the young French girl who witnessed the Marian apparitions at the grotto in Lourdes.
Another notable figure with the name Lourdes is Lourdes Torres (1920-2008), a Cuban-American actress and dancer who appeared in several Hollywood films and television shows throughout her career.
Lourdes Diaz (1958-1992) was a Cuban-American serial killer who was convicted of murdering several elderly women in Miami, Florida, in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Lourdes Montes (born 1970) is a Mexican-American entrepreneur and the founder of the successful tequila brand, Casa Dragones.
Lourdes Portillo (born 1944) is a Mexican-American filmmaker and academic, known for her pioneering work in Chicana/o and Latino/a cinema, including the documentary films "Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo" and "Señorita Extraviada."
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Lourdes over time
The chart below shows babies named Lourdes registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1999 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Lourdes, the clearest high point is 2011. The latest England and Wales figure is 8 births in 2024, compared with 14 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lourdes by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Lourdes was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #4342 | 11 | 2 |
| 2010s | #2977 | 84 | 10 |
| 2000s | #2365 | 87 | 10 |
| 1990s | #3900 | 3 | 1 |
Related
Names similar to Lourdes
- Lily 72,956
- Lucy 70,663
- Lauren 50,664
- Leah 33,185
- Lola 24,525
- Layla 24,520
- Laura 23,471
- Lilly 21,714
- Lydia 18,353
- Libby 14,515
- Lara 13,415
- Lacey 13,406
FAQ
Lourdes: questions and answers
How popular is the name Lourdes in the UK right now?
In 2024, Lourdes was ranked #3015 for girls in England and Wales, with 8 births registered.
When was Lourdes most popular?
The peak year on record was 2011, with 14 babies registered as Lourdes in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Lourdes?
A feminine name of French origin referring to a Christian Catholic site of pilgrimage.
How many people are called Lourdes in the UK?
A total of 185 babies have been registered as Lourdes across the 23 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.