Laramie means from La Ramée — from the French trapper Jacques La Ramée who explored Wyoming. Laramie, Wyoming sits at the foot of the Rockies. The Laramie Project is one of the most important plays about hate crimes. Three syllables of French-trapper frontier, Rocky Mountain grandeur, and the play that made America confront hatred.
French La Ramée (the branch)→trapper Jacques La Ramée→Laramie, Wyoming
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French roots
Laramie is named for Jacques La Ramée, a French-Canadian trapper who explored Wyoming. Laramie sits at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. The Laramie Project (2000) by Moisés Kaufman is one of the most important plays in American theatre, exploring the murder of Matthew Shepard.
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First recorded
Earliest known use: Named for Jacques La Ramée (died c. 1821); Laramie, Wyoming founded 1868.
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Today
Laramie remains a beloved choice, ranking #3236 in the US. 2,765 babies have been named Laramie since 1932.
◈ Sources: Behind the Name, SSA data
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How popular is Laramie?
2024peak year
Today, Laramie is rarely chosen — ranked well outside the top 1,000 (around #3236), with only about 109 babies given the name per year. But it wasn't always this way. At its peak in 2024, 226 babies were given the name (ranked #1089 nationally). Its strongest stretch was the 2020s. Laramie has been trending upward in recent years. In all, around 2,765 babies have been registered as Laramie since 1880.
Year-by-year registrations1880–2024 · U.S. Social Security data
Laramie's Life Path 5 is the adventurer's number — Rocky Mountain adventure. People named Laramie tend to be wide-open, principled, and gifted at confronting difficult truths.
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