Head to head · Boys' names
Lawrence vs Leonidas
#518 vs #510 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Leonidas is a whisker ahead (#510 vs #518 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name 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; Leonidas leads 2.
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: Lawrence #62, Leonidas #875 — Lawrence higher
- 1890s: Lawrence #45, Leonidas #916 — Lawrence higher
- 1900s: Lawrence #37, Leonidas #1058 — Lawrence higher
- 1910s: Lawrence #37, Leonidas #1664 — Lawrence higher
- 1920s: Lawrence #37, Leonidas #1915 — Lawrence higher
- 1930s: Lawrence #36, Leonidas #2321 — Lawrence higher
- 1940s: Lawrence #32, Leonidas #2769 — Lawrence higher
- 1950s: Lawrence #42, Leonidas #2747 — Lawrence higher
- 1960s: Lawrence #67, Leonidas #2678 — Lawrence higher
- 1970s: Lawrence #105, Leonidas #3004 — Lawrence higher
- 1980s: Lawrence #142, Leonidas #3356 — Lawrence higher
- 1990s: Lawrence #236, Leonidas #4645 — Lawrence higher
- 2000s: Lawrence #377, Leonidas #3362 — Lawrence higher
- 2010s: Lawrence #481, Leonidas #637 — Lawrence higher
- 2020s: Lawrence #546, Leonidas #470 — Leonidas higher
Lawrence stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Leonidas took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Lawrence | Leonidas |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #62 | #875 |
| 1890s | #45 | #916 |
| 1900s | #37 | #1058 |
| 1910s | #37 | #1664 |
| 1920s | #37 | #1915 |
| 1930s | #36 | #2321 |
| 1940s | #32 | #2769 |
| 1950s | #42 | #2747 |
| 1960s | #67 | #2678 |
| 1970s | #105 | #3004 |
| 1980s | #142 | #3356 |
| 1990s | #236 | #4645 |
| 2000s | #377 | #3362 |
| 2010s | #481 | #637 |
| 2020s | #546 | #470 |
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
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.
Leonidas
Son of the lion; lion-like
From Greek λέων (leōn), "lion," plus the patronymic suffix -idas, the same ending that turns a father's name into a son's.
Λέων (Leōn) → Λεωνίδας (Leōnídas) → Leonidas (Latin) → Leonidas (English)
How it traveled
Leonidas is Greek, and its most famous bearer is Leonidas I, king of Sparta, who died in 480 BC holding the pass at Thermopylae against the Persian army — a stand retold by Herodotus and by nearly every generation since. The name stayed in continuous Greek use through the Christian centuries, borne by early martyrs and later carried into Orthodox naming tradition, where it remains ordinary in Greece today.
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
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.
Leonidas
lee-ON-ih-das
Four syllables, stress on the second. Greek speakers say le-o-NEE-thas, with the stress on the third syllable and a soft th; both are correct in their own settings.
- Leo — The default short form in English, and a fully established given name in its own right.
- Lee — Informal, drawn from the first syllable; also stands alone as a given name and a surname.
- Leon — Used as a everyday form, and an independent given name across several European languages.
- Lenny — Informal and family-level; more often attached to Leonard, but applied to Leonidas too.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Lawrence if you want…
- a name on the way upup 44 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesLawrence is 2 syllables to Leonidas's 4
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 40% for Leonidas
Choose Leonidas if you want…
- a name holding steadyLeonidas is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itLeonidas runs 4 syllables, Lawrence 2
- a name that feels very nowLeonidas is holding its place on the charts
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
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.
Leonidas
Strengths
- Comes with Leo already attached — a short form everyone knows how to spell, say and write on a lunchbox.
- Spelled the way it sounds in English: no silent letters, no competing variants in wide use.
- Documented in continuous use since antiquity, from Sparta through Greek Orthodox tradition to the present.
To consider
- It is tied tightly to one story — the last stand at Thermopylae — and to the films built on it. Some families like that anchor; others would rather the name arrive without a battlefield attached.
- Expect confusion with Leonard, Leonardo and Leonid, and the occasional Leonidus in writing. The correction is quick, but it will be a lifelong one.
- Stress placement varies between English and Greek speakers, so a Greek-speaking relative and an American teacher may say it differently.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
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.
Leonidas
40%chance Leonidas feels dated by 2040
Leonidas 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.
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 Lawrence and Leonidas 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 Lawrence and Leonidas?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Lawrence and Leonidas — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Lawrence or Leonidas — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Lawrence or Leonidas?
- Leonidas, in 2025: Leonidas ranked #510 with 591 babies; Lawrence ranked #518 with 578 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Lawrence or Leonidas?
- Lawrence. Over the last five years Lawrence moved up 44 places; Leonidas moved down 53 places.
- Which is the older name, Lawrence or Leonidas?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Lawrence and Leonidas?
- About 230,000 people named Lawrence are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 9,700 people named Leonidas are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Lawrences or Leonidass in the classroom?
- Lawrence will almost certainly be the only one in school. Leonidas 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
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Lawrence, Leonidas and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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