Few of my fellow Millennials can forget Rory Gilmore’s graduation speech at the end of Gilmore Girls’ third season, during which she said, “But my ultimate inspiration comes from my best friend, the dazzling woman from whom I received my name and my life’s blood, Lorelai Gilmore.” And maybe it’s because we Millennials are having children now, or perhaps it’s due to the many streamers allowing us to host reruns of our comfort show from the early aughts, but one particular Gilmore Girl-inspired baby name is now trending: Lorelai.
For seven glorious seasons, the unstoppable mother-daughter duo of Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Lorelai “Rory” Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) charmed us with their quick wit, emotional heart-to-hearts, and slightly alarming caffeine intake. In March 2026, Lauren Graham shared that she and the show’s creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino, were working on a book that revisits “unforgettable moments from the set.” And earlier this month, Graham announced that a Gilmore Girls documentary is in production, which has led to even more chatter about the show online—and its effect on the Social Security Administration’s latest baby name rankings.
"Gilmore Girl-inspired names are nostalgic and familiar without sounding dull or overused,” says Steph Coffield of Names With Steph.
Lorelai’s ranking and meaning
Lorelai, a German-rooted name meaning “alluring enchantress” or “temptress,” only broke into the top 1,000 baby girl names in the United States in 2006, the penultimate year of the show's seven-year run. Since then, it’s steadily climbed the charts, breaking into the top 500 in 2022 and claiming No. 333 in 2025. This was a significant jump, as it jumped a whopping 70 spots between last year and the year before.
"Lorelai is one of my favorite TV character association names,” Coffield says. “She's a bit mysterious but also very feminine and classically beautiful with those ‘L’ sounds." Plus, she says, the No. 333 position is the perfect sweet spot for expecting parents who are looking for a name that is relatively well-known but not super popular.
Kayla Keegan, senior social media manager at BabyCenter, welcomed her daughter Lorelai in March. During her second trimester, she and her husband had whittled their baby list down to three names—Amelia, Chloe, and Natalie—but they couldn’t agree on a frontrunner. Then, a friend suggested they queue up Gilmore Girls.
“When we heard the name Lorelai, my husband and I immediately both agreed it was a beautiful name that we hadn’t really heard before,” she says. “We debated whether it would be a bad thing to have her name be based on a pop-culture character—but the more we watched the show, the more that fear went away. So, we went for it. And we absolutely love it. My husband also really likes all the cute nickname options we have—Rory, Lori, Lore, Lo—depending on what her personality ends up being.”
How do other Gilmore Girls names rank?
The Gilmore Girls effect isn’t hitting all names equally, but it is interesting to see which associated names are increasing in personality, and which are falling out of favor.
More Gilmore Girls names on the rise
- Luke (No. 33 for boys)
- Milo (No. 119 for boys)
- Graham (No. 120 for boys)
- Dean (No. 125 for boys)
- Edward (No. 224 for boys)
- Rory (No. 230 for girls and No. 199 for boys)
- Lane (No. 250 for boys, but unranked for girls)
- Kelly (No. 852 for girls)
Of those, Rory had the biggest jump in popularity between last year and the year before—the name rose 57 spots in rank for girls and 28 spots in rank for boys.
Gilmore Girls names declining in popularity
- Emily (No. 34 for girls)
- Jackson (No. 36 for boys)
- Logan (No. 53 for boys and No. 402 for girls)
- Richard (No. 234 for boys)
- Amy (No. 257 for girls)
- Jared (No. 396 for boys)
- Lauren (No. 401 for girls)
- Melissa (No. 420 for girls)
- Alexis (No. 513 for boys and No. 554 for girls)
- Paris (No. 592 for girls)
- Taylor (No. 685 for boys and No. 403 for girls)
This time, Paris had the sharpest drop-off, falling 108 places in rank between last year and the year before. But it did still rank, unlike names like Sherman, Sookie, or Patty, which are still up for grabs.
