Do you know how The City of Loris, SC got its name?
No one knows for sure, but there are some interesting theories:
Some say it was named after a family dog.
Others believe it was named after a book, though no book with that title has been located.
Another theory is that the name came from people with a heavy accent saying the last name “Lowery’s” who lived in the area. (C’mon, say it out loud in your best southern drawl! 
)
Far-fetched, but could the town have been named after an Asian animal called a Slow Loris?
Perhaps the most common theory is that the town was named after a girl named “Lori” or “Delores.” In the July 1976 edition of the Independent Republic Quarterly, Maxine Dawes, the first female mayor of Loris, wrote that at the turn of the century, “naming towns after girls was popular. There were little community post offices with such names as Katie, Blanche, Veronica, and Daisy,” Dawes wrote. ”Possibly there was a place named Delores. The same people who dropped the letter O from opossums, the po from potatoes, the to from tomatoes and tobacco, could just as easily lose the De from Delores.”
Fun fact: I now own the home on Main Street where Maxine Dawes lived as Mayor!
What’s your theory about how Loris got its name?
Pictured: A photo of Loris City Council appeared in an 1987 special Loris Centennial publication. Pictured in the first row, from left to right, are Jennings Dew, Maxine Dawes and Johnny Mew. In the back row, from left to right, are Fred Grate, Ronald Ward, Edward Suggs and Tommy Brogdon. Photo courtesy, Independent Republic Quarterly
