Loretta

Loretta originated as a diminutive of Laura, drawn from the Latin noun for the laurel tree, laurus. A parallel linguistic path links it to Loreto, an Italian town whose name circulated outward across Europe during the late Middle Ages. In the United States, the name moved steadily into secular use during the early twentieth century, buoyed by the career of actress Loretta Young and later by singer Loretta Lynn.

A Loretta tends to be pictured with an orderly recipe box and a pair of shears designated strictly for fabric. Half of all living bearers belong to the baby boom generation, placing the average Loretta at sixty-six years old today. The sound carries the cadence of a rotary telephone and a kitchen counter that survived three remodels without chipping. The name reads as someone who listens politely to unsolicited suggestions before doing precisely what was decided at the outset.