For first names: http://www.behindthename.com/
Laurie:
LAURIE
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWR-ee [key]
Diminutive of LAURA or LAURENCE (1)
So.... Laura:
LAURA
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Polish, Slovene, Scandinavian, German, Dutch, Late Roman
Pronounced: LAWR-ə (English), LOW-rah (Spanish, Italian, Polish, German, Dutch) [key]
Feminine form of the Late Latin name Laurus, which meant "laurel". This meaning was favourable, since in ancient Rome the leaves of laurel trees were used to create victors' garlands. The name was borne by the 9th-century Spanish martyr Saint Laura, who was a nun thrown into a vat of molten lead by the Moors. It was also the name of the subject of poems by the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch.
As an English name, Laura has been used since the 13th century. A famous bearer was Laura Secord (1775-1868), a Canadian heroine during the War of 1812.
Though I liked Laurence better!
From the Roman cognomen Laurentius, which meant "from Laurentum". Laurentum was a city in ancient Italy, its name probably deriving from Latin laurus "laurel". Saint Laurence was a 3rd-century deacon and martyr from Rome. According to tradition he was roasted alive on a gridiron because, when ordered to hand over the church's treasures, he presented the sick and poor.
Laurie:
LAURIE
Gender: Feminine & Masculine
Usage: English
Pronounced: LAWR-ee [key]
Diminutive of LAURA or LAURENCE (1)
So.... Laura:
LAURA
Gender: Feminine
Usage: English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Polish, Slovene, Scandinavian, German, Dutch, Late Roman
Pronounced: LAWR-ə (English), LOW-rah (Spanish, Italian, Polish, German, Dutch) [key]
Feminine form of the Late Latin name Laurus, which meant "laurel". This meaning was favourable, since in ancient Rome the leaves of laurel trees were used to create victors' garlands. The name was borne by the 9th-century Spanish martyr Saint Laura, who was a nun thrown into a vat of molten lead by the Moors. It was also the name of the subject of poems by the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch.
As an English name, Laura has been used since the 13th century. A famous bearer was Laura Secord (1775-1868), a Canadian heroine during the War of 1812.
Though I liked Laurence better!
From the Roman cognomen Laurentius, which meant "from Laurentum". Laurentum was a city in ancient Italy, its name probably deriving from Latin laurus "laurel". Saint Laurence was a 3rd-century deacon and martyr from Rome. According to tradition he was roasted alive on a gridiron because, when ordered to hand over the church's treasures, he presented the sick and poor.