Lark

Meaning of Lark

Lark traces its linguistic plumage to the Old English lāwerce, the common skylark whose dawn chorus has long symbolized cheer and early rising; as a given name it first fluttered into American birth records in the mid-20th century, a full century after the word “lark” acquired its secondary meaning of a light-hearted escapade. Used almost exclusively for girls, it occupies a quiet niche—never climbing above the low-900s in national rank and rarely exceeding fifty annual registrations—yet it refuses to disappear, buoyed by the modern appetite for compact, nature-coded names. Cultural associations range from Shakespeare’s “lark at heaven’s gate” to the proverb “happy as a lark,” offering parents an avian emblem of optimism without the weight of mythic back-story. In short, Lark remains a modest but sonorous option: rare enough to feel distinctive, familiar enough to avoid explanatory footnotes at every introduction.

Pronunciation

English

• Pronunced as LAHRK (/lɑrk/)

• Robin
• Dove
• Wren
• Sparrow
• Skylark