Laurel (given name)
Laurel is a unisex given name. The name is of English origin from the Latin Lauras, referring to the laurel tree. Various names related to Laurel are Laura, Lauren, Lori, and Lorraine. Another related name would be the Germanic mythology name Lorelie which means "luring rock" and is mentioned in a German legend saying that a maiden named Lorelei, who lives upon a rock in the Rhine River, lures fishermen to death with her songs.
Notable people and characters with the name include:
People
- Laurel Abrahamson, American volleyball player
- Laurel Aitken, Cuban-Jamaican singer
- Laurel Arnell-Cullen, British indie musician
- Laurel Beckett, American biostatistician
- Laurel Braitman, American science historian and writer
- Laurel Broten, Canadian politician
- Laurel Burch, American artist, designer, and businesswoman
- Laurel Campbell, New Zealand racehorse trainer
- Laurel Casinader, Sri Lankan educationalist and philanthropist
- Laurel Chor, Hong Kong photographer, journalist, and filmmaker
- Laurel Clark, American astronaut, medical doctor, navy captain, and Space Shuttle mission specialist
- Laurel Collins, Canadian politician
- Laurel Coppock, American comedic actress
- Laurel Cronin, American actress, singer, and dancer
- Laurel Crosby, Canadian schoolteacher and sports executive and administrator
- Laurel Currie Oates, American legal author and law professor
- Laurel Cutler, American advertising executive
- Laurel DeWitt, American fashion designer and artist
- Laurel E. Youmans, American politician and physician
- Laurel Edwards, Australian television presenter, radio announcer, and singer
- Laurel Elizabeth Keyes, American writer, lecturer, and counselor
- Laurel Frank, Australian costume designer
- Laurel G. Bellows, American lawyer
- Laurel Goodwin, American film- and television actress
- Laurel Griggs, American child actress
- Laurel Haak, American scientist
- Laurel Halo, American electronic musician
- Laurel Hausler, American contemporary oil painter and sculptor
- Laurel H. Carney, an American engineer and neuroscientist who conducts research on the auditory system.
- Laurel Hester, American police lieutenant
- Laurel Holloman, American painter and actress
- Laurel Hubbard, New Zealand weightlifter
- Laurel Hurley, American soprano
- Laurel Ivory, American NWSL goalkeeper
- Laurel J. Brinton, American-born Canadian linguist
- Laurel J. Richie, American WNBA president
- Laurel Johannesson, Canadian artist
- Laurel Johnson, Jamaican sprinter
- Laurel Johnson, American contestant on Survivor (American TV series)
- Laurel Kean, American professional golfer
- Laurel Kessel, American volleyball player
- Laurel Korholz, American rower and coach
- Laurel L. Wilkening, American planetary scientist and professor
- Laurel Lee (disambiguation), several people
- Laurel Libby, American activist, politician, and interior designer
- Laurel Lunt Prussing, American politician
- Laurel Marsden, American actress
- Laurel Martin, American field hockey player
- Laurel Martyn, Australian ballerina
- Laurel Massé, American jazz singer and past member of vocal group The Manhattan Transfer
- Laurel McAlister, New Zealand welfare worker and community leader
- Laurel McGoff, American actress and participant on reality show Kid Nation
- Laurel McSherry, American artist and director
- Laurel Mellin, American author
- Laurel Molk, American illustrator and author of children’s books
- Laurel Nakadate, American feminist video artist, filmmaker, and photographer
- Laurel Nannup, Western Australian Noongar artist
- Laurel Neme, American consultant in environmental and wildlife policy and natural resource management
- Laurel O'Donnell, American author of romance novels
- Laurel Pardey, Australian pianist
- Laurel Parmet, American filmmaker
- Laurel Power, Australian politician
- Laurel Powers-Freeling, British businesswoman
- Laurel Ptak, American artist, curator, writer, and educator
- Laurel Rose Willson, American author and con artist
- Laurel Roth Hope, American artist
- Laurel Schafer, Canadian organic chemist
- Laurel C. Schneider, American theologian and professor
- Laurel Snyder, American poet and writer of children’s books
- Laurel Stavis, American politician
- Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, American historian and professor
- Laurel Touby, American journalist and investor
- Laurel Trivelpiece, American poet and novelist
- Laurel True, American artist, architectural artist, muralist, and mosaic artist
- Laurel van der Wal, American aeronautical engineer
- Laurel Vermillion, American educator and academic administrator
- Laurel Winter, American author of fantasy, science fiction, and poetry
- Laurel Woodcock, Canadian artist and academic
- Laurel Yurchick, birth name of Icy Blu, American recording artist
- Laurel Zuckerman, American author
Fictional characters
- Laurel, in the YA novel Wings (Aprilynne Pike)
- Laurel, in the children's picture book 10,000 Dresses
- Laurel Banning, in the US TV soap opera All My Children, played by Kristen Jensen and Felicity LaFortune
- Laurel Boyd, in the 1996 film Jerry Maguire
- Laurel Castillo, in the US TV series How to Get Away with Murder, played by Karla Souza
- Laurel Chapin, in the US soap opera One Life to Live, played by Janice Lynde
- Laurel Darkhaven, in the comic book series Rising Stars
- Laurel-Ann Drummond, in the horror film Pontypool, played by Georgina Reilly
- Laurel Duglose, the late biological mother of protagonist Randal Pearson in This Is Us
- Laurel Dupree, in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, played by Andrea Kelland
- Laurel Gand, a.k.a. Andromeda, superheroine in DC Comics
- Laurel Gray, in the novel and film adaptation In a Lonely Place, played by Gloria Grahame
- Laurel Hitchin, in the US crime drama TV series The Blacklist, played by Christine Lahti
- Laurel Kent, superheroine in DC Comics
- Laurel Lance, a.k.a. Black Canary, superheroine in DC Comics
- *Laurel Lance (Arrowverse), in the TV series Arrow who was adapted from Laurel Lance
- Laurel Limoges, in the US TV series Privileged (TV series), played by Anne Archer
- Laurel Scott, in the film The Oscar, played by Jill St. John
- Laurel Sommersby, in the 1993 film Sommersby
- Laurel Stevenson, in the novella/TV movie The Langoliers
- Laurel Takashima, in the 1993 film Babylon 5: The Gathering, played by Tamlyn Tomita
- Laurel Thomas, in the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Charlotte Bellamy
- Laurel Victor, a character in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & the Olympians and The Trials of Apollo
- Laurel Weaver/Agent L., in the film Men in Black, played by Linda Fiorentino
- Laurel Yeung, in the Canadian TV series Edgemont (TV series), played by Kristin Kreuk