According to the U.S. baby name data, the usage of Lauryn began rising during the second half of the 1990s, then saw a pronounced spike in 1999:
- 2001: 1,083 baby girls named Lauryn [rank: 289th]
- 2000: 1,408 baby girls named Lauryn [rank: 224th]
- 1999: 1,883 baby girls named Lauryn [rank: 167th] (peak usage)
- 1998: 628 baby girls named Lauryn [rank: 421st]
- 1997: 498 baby girls named Lauryn [rank: 498th]
- 1996: 338 baby girls named Lauryn [rank: 659th]
- 1995: 241 baby girls named Lauryn [rank: 818th]
What was influencing the name during those years?
New Jersey-born rapper and singer Lauryn Hill.
During the 1990s, Lauryn was a member of the hip-hop group the Fugees along with Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel. The trio’s second (and final) album, The Score, was released in early 1996 and soon became one of the best-selling hip-hop albums of all time.
Of the album’s four singles, only “Fu-Gee-La” was released commercially in the U.S., and therefore eligible to appear on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart. It peaked at #29 in March of 1996.
But the other three singles — “Killing Me Softly” (a cover of the 1973 Roberta Flack hit), “Ready or Not” (which featured an Enya sample), and “No Woman, No Cry” (a cover of the Bob Marley classic) — were no less popular, judging by how frequently they were played on the radio.
In early 1997, the Fugees won a pair of Grammy Awards — one for The Score, the other for “Killing Me Softly.”
Later the same year, however, the group broke up.
Lauryn went on to release her first solo album, The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill, in August of 1998. It eventually surpassed The Score in terms of sales, becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time.
The album’s most successful single, “Doo Wop (That Thing),” ranked #1 on the Hot 100 for two weeks in November.
Here’s the music video:
The other two singles, “Ex-Factor” and “Everything Is Everything,” entered the Hot 100 in 1999. The first peaked at #21 in April, and the second at #35 in July.
And two more tracks — “To Zion” (featuring guitarist Carlos Santana) and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You” (a cover of the 1967 Frankie Valli hit) — also saw significant radio play.
In early 1999, Lauryn Hill won five Grammy Awards: two for The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill, two for “Doo Wop (That Thing),” and one for herself (as Best New Artist). She became the first female artist to win five or more Grammy Awards in a single night, and Miseducation became the first hip-hop album to win Album Of The Year.
Around the same time, she became the first hip-hop artist to be featured on the cover of Time magazine.
What are your thoughts on the name Lauryn? How about Lauren? (What’s your preferred spelling of the name?)
Sources:
- Wikipedia: Fugees, Lauryn Hill
- Billboard: Fugees, Lauryn Hill
- Williott, Carl. “The Story Of The Fugees’ Bitter Breakup And Unforgettable Legacy.” Uproxx 10 Nov. 2016.
- ‘The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill’: For The Record – Grammy.com
- SSA
Top image: Clipping from the cover of Time magazine (8 Feb. 1999)