Head to head · Boys' names
Denver vs Lawrence
#518 vs #518 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Denver and Lawrence share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#518). The records cannot split them; sound and story will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Lawrence leads 3 measures of 6; Denver leads 0.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Denver #839, Lawrence #62 — Lawrence higher
- 1890s: Denver #773, Lawrence #45 — Lawrence higher
- 1900s: Denver #678, Lawrence #37 — Lawrence higher
- 1910s: Denver #526, Lawrence #37 — Lawrence higher
- 1920s: Denver #457, Lawrence #37 — Lawrence higher
- 1930s: Denver #483, Lawrence #36 — Lawrence higher
- 1940s: Denver #513, Lawrence #32 — Lawrence higher
- 1950s: Denver #645, Lawrence #42 — Lawrence higher
- 1960s: Denver #764, Lawrence #67 — Lawrence higher
- 1970s: Denver #807, Lawrence #105 — Lawrence higher
- 1980s: Denver #904, Lawrence #142 — Lawrence higher
- 1990s: Denver #900, Lawrence #236 — Lawrence higher
- 2000s: Denver #1091, Lawrence #377 — Lawrence higher
- 2010s: Denver #985, Lawrence #481 — Lawrence higher
- 2020s: Denver #505, Lawrence #546 — Denver higher
Lawrence stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Denver took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Denver | Lawrence |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #839 | #62 |
| 1890s | #773 | #45 |
| 1900s | #678 | #37 |
| 1910s | #526 | #37 |
| 1920s | #457 | #37 |
| 1930s | #483 | #36 |
| 1940s | #513 | #32 |
| 1950s | #645 | #42 |
| 1960s | #764 | #67 |
| 1970s | #807 | #105 |
| 1980s | #904 | #142 |
| 1990s | #900 | #236 |
| 2000s | #1091 | #377 |
| 2010s | #985 | #481 |
| 2020s | #505 | #546 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Denver
crossing or passage of the Danes
From Old English Dena (of the Danes) plus a word for a crossing or ford, describing the Norfolk village of Denver. The American city carries the surname of James W. Denver, governor of Kansas Territory, rather than the meaning directly.
Dena fær (Old English) → Denver (village in Norfolk) → Denver (English surname) → Denver (given name)
How it traveled
The oldest Denver is a place: a village in the Norfolk fens of eastern England, named for a crossing used by Danish settlers. English place names of that kind hardened into family names, and the surname Denver crossed the Atlantic with its bearers.
Lawrence
from Laurentum
Latin Laurentius, a man of Laurentum, a town in Latium. Roman writers connected the town's name with the laurel, so the tree is at one remove rather than in the name directly. The English spelling with a w is a medieval respelling of the same word.
Laurentum → Laurentius → Laurence → Lawrence
How it traveled
Lawrence was a deacon of Rome, responsible for its treasury and its poor, and was executed in 258 during a persecution that killed the pope four days earlier. The story that survives has him asked to produce the wealth of the church, gathering the poor and the sick, and presenting them.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Denver
DEN-ver
Stress on the first syllable. The city means almost no American will hesitate over it, and English speakers elsewhere manage it without instruction.
- Den — The most direct short form, used informally at home and among friends.
- Denny — Informal; also stands alone as a given name and is more often heard as a short form of Dennis.
- Dev — Occasional playground shortening; also an independent name in its own right.
Lawrence
LOR-unce
Two syllables, stress on the first. French Laurent has the weight at the end and a nasal ending; Italian Lorenzo has three syllables with the stress in the middle. All are the same name.
- Larry — The default American clip; plain, adult and used at work.
- Laurie — The older English form, used for either child.
- Ren — Taken from the middle; a modern clip and a name in its own right.
- Lars — The Scandinavian form of the same name, given alone there.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Denver if you want…
- a name holding steadyDenver is holding its place on the charts
- a name that feels very nowDenver is holding its place on the charts
Choose Lawrence if you want…
- a name on the way upup 44 places on the charts in five years
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 40% for Denver
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Denver
Strengths
- One spelling, one pronunciation, and a city on every US map to anchor both — it will rarely need to be spelled out or repeated.
- A documented line running from a Norfolk village to an English surname to an American given name, rather than a recent invention.
- Given quietly and consistently across many generations, so it reads as neither dated nor newly minted.
To consider
- The city dominates the association. Expect a lifetime of people asking whether the family has Colorado ties, and the occasional question about the singer who took the city's name as his own.
- It leans toward boys without settling there. A girl named Denver will meet forms and teachers who assume otherwise — easily corrected, but it will recur.
- Denny, the friendliest short form, is more commonly attached to Dennis, so it may invite that name as a guess.
Lawrence
Strengths
- A documented third-century bearer with a feast day and a very large geographical footprint.
- Four short forms of different registers, one of which serves either child.
- Recognizable in Italian, French, Spanish, Swedish and Polish, though the spellings diverge.
To consider
- Larry is what most people will settle on, so it is worth liking the short form.
- Laurence with a u is the older English spelling and both are in use.
- It is strongly represented among older generations, which gives it a period sound for some listeners.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Denver
40%chance Denver feels dated by 2040
Denver sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Lawrence
12%chance Lawrence feels dated by 2040
Lawrence has held the top-100 across 9 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Denver and Lawrence in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Denver and Lawrence?
Put both to the vote.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Borrowed from the girls: names boys are taking back
- Place names on the map and the birth certificate
- Classics hiding in plain sight
- Greatest Generation names (born 1901–1927)
- all guides
Where Denver and Lawrence each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Denver or Lawrence — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Denver or Lawrence?
- They tie in 2025: Denver ranked #518 with 578 babies; Lawrence ranked #518 with 578 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Denver or Lawrence?
- Lawrence. Over the last five years Denver moved up 8 places; Lawrence moved up 44 places.
- Which is the older name, Denver or Lawrence?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Denver and Lawrence?
- About 13,500 people named Denver are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 230,000 people named Lawrence are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Denvers or Lawrences in the classroom?
- Denver will almost certainly be the only one in school. Lawrence will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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