Larry
Feminine · “of Laurentum”
Larry is given to boys far more often — 807,588 boys against 3,560 girls since 1880. See Larry as a boy name
Larry doubles a letter that its parent name does not have. Lawrence has one r; Larry has two, because English shortens a name by keeping the stressed vowel short and propping it up with a doubled consonant. That small piece of machinery is why the short form looks so unlike the long one.
How old is the name Larry?
Larry first appears in US birth records in 1914 — 111 years ago. The typical Larry alive today was born around 1957, making them about 68 years old. About 2,700 people named Larry are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Larry most popular?
Larry peaked in 1940, reaching #834 nationally. See the whole 1940 chart.
Where it comes from
From Laurentius to Larry
The story of Larry
There is a second road into this name, and it comes from Ireland. Lorcan was an Irish name in its own right, borne by kings and by the archbishop of Dublin who negotiated with the Normans; when Irish names were being anglicized, Lorcan was matched to Laurence on the strength of a rough similarity of sound rather than any relationship, and Laurence O'Toole is the result. Irish families then shortened the English name in the English way, and got Larry. So a Larry may descend from a Roman town by way of a saint, or from an Irish king by way of a translator's guess, and the two lines are equally real.
Meaningscholars disagree
of Laurentum
Inherited from Lawrence, whose derivation from a Roman town is standard but not proved. Larry adds nothing to the argument and takes nothing from it.
How the name formed
- Laurentius
- Lawrence
- Larry
Related forms: Lorcan · Renzo · Lorenzo
Pronouncing Larry
LAIR-ee
Two syllables, weight at the front. In parts of America the first vowel is closer to the a of cat, and both are ordinary.
Nicknames for Larry
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1914
- Most girls named
- 1955117 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #834reached in 1940
- Change vs 1993
- −11.1%8 in 1995, from 9
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Larry in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Lorcan in Irish — related form
- Renzo in Italian — related form
- Lorenzo in Spanish — related form
Larrys among us
people named Larry are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Larry sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Everyone can spell it and say it on first hearing, anywhere English is spoken.
- It works as a full name and as a short form of Lawrence, which gives a family two ways to use it.
- Five letters, two syllables, and no ambiguity of any kind.
- It is strongly associated with one American generation.
- It reads as a familiar form, and formal settings will look for a Lawrence that may not exist.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of girls, though it reads overwhelmingly as a boy's name.
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What they receive
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Larry
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Larrys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,700 people named Larry are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Larry in 2025?
- Larry is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Larry with classmates?
- Larry will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More L names
The most-given names starting with L, all years combined.
Linda#902 · Lisa#987 · Laura#379 · Lauren#401 · Lillian#57 · Lori#1721 · Louise#514 · Lois#1666
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Larry? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Larry and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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