| Marina | Laurel | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Of the sea | The laurel tree |
| Origin | latin | Latin |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | mah-REE-nah | LOR-ul |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1883 |
| Peak year | 1994 (1,307) | 1956 (1,181) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 372 |
| Trend | Vintage | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Marina | Laurel |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 2,727 | 2,448 |
| 2010s | 4,402 | 3,618 |
| 2000s | 7,515 | 3,445 |
| 1990s | 10,174 | 4,365 |
| 1980s | 4,165 | 4,901 |
| 1970s | 2,834 | 4,065 |
| 1960s | 3,199 | 6,366 |
| 1950s | 1,906 | 9,439 |
| 1940s | 988 | 4,890 |
| 1930s | 579 | 1,525 |
| 1920s | 582 | 1,437 |
| 1910s | 312 | 366 |
| 1900s | 78 | 108 |
| 1890s | 42 | 98 |
| 1880s | 11 | 42 |
From the Latin adjective marinus/marina 'of the sea', itself from mare 'sea'. A long-established name across Romance and Slavic languages, borne by early Christian saints.
Laurel names the laurel tree, whose leaves crowned victors in the ancient world.
Laurel is more popular than Marina today: about 372 US babies were given the name Laurel in 2025, compared with 0 named Marina.
Marina means Of the sea (latin origin), while Laurel means The laurel tree (Latin origin).
In US records, Marina first appears in 0 and Laurel in 1883, so Marina has the longer recorded history.