| Ebony | Laurel | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | deep black wood | The laurel tree |
| Origin | latin | Latin |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | EB-uh-nee | LOR-ul |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1883 |
| Peak year | 1982 (2,279) | 1956 (1,181) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 372 |
| Trend | Vintage | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Ebony | Laurel |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 155 | 2,448 |
| 2010s | 742 | 3,618 |
| 2000s | 2,911 | 3,445 |
| 1990s | 10,174 | 4,365 |
| 1980s | 18,263 | 4,901 |
| 1970s | 6,688 | 4,065 |
| 1960s | 59 | 6,366 |
| 1950s | 6 | 9,439 |
| 1940s | 0 | 4,890 |
| 1930s | 0 | 1,525 |
| 1920s | 0 | 1,437 |
| 1910s | 0 | 366 |
| 1900s | 0 | 108 |
| 1890s | 0 | 98 |
| 1880s | 0 | 42 |
A word-name from 'ebony', the dense black tropical hardwood, from Latin 'ebenus' (via Greek, ultimately Egyptian). Note: a vocabulary name; secondary nature theme reflects the tree/wood source.
Laurel names the laurel tree, whose leaves crowned victors in the ancient world.
Laurel is more popular than Ebony today: about 372 US babies were given the name Laurel in 2025, compared with 0 named Ebony.
Ebony means deep black wood (latin origin), while Laurel means The laurel tree (Latin origin).
In US records, Ebony first appears in 0 and Laurel in 1883, so Ebony has the longer recorded history.