Laura is from the Latin *laurus* — the bay-laurel tree from which the victors' crown was woven in ancient Rome. **A top-15 US baby name from 1956 to 1989, peaking at #10 in 1969**. **Laura Dern (born 1967)** — **American actress; daughter of Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd; three Academy Award nominations — Best Actress *Rambling Rose* (1991), Best Supporting Actress *Wild* (2014), **and Best Supporting Actress win for *Marriage Story* (2019)**; two Primetime Emmys including *Big Little Lies*; AFI Life Achievement Award by family pairing with mother Diane Ladd (2025)**. **Laura Bush (born 1946)** — First Lady of the United States 2001-2009; former librarian and teacher; founded the **Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries** (2002), which has distributed millions of books to schools across 47 US states. **Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957)** — author of the *Little House on the Prairie* series — 80+ million books sold across nine novels. **Laura Linney (born 1964)** — three-time Oscar nominee; Tony nominee; *Ozark* (2017-2022). **Laura Branigan** ("Gloria" 1982). **Laura Mvula** — British soul singer.
Featured throughout American literature and 21st-century cinema.
Laura reduces to five — the number of laurel crown.