Lawrance
Masculine · “of Laurentum”
English put a w into this name that no other language has. Latin, French, Italian and Spanish all manage without one — Laurentius, Laurent, Lorenzo, Lorenzo — and English alone wrote Lawrence, which is why the name looks so unlike its relatives.
How old is the name Lawrance?
Lawrance first appears in US birth records in 1889 — 136 years ago. The typical Lawrance alive today was born around 1952, making them about 73 years old. About 1,500 people named Lawrance are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lawrance most popular?
Lawrance peaked in 1950, reaching #806 nationally. See the whole 1950 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Laurentius to Lawrance
The story of Lawrance
The w came in because English was writing down a vowel it had already changed. The Latin au became a long open o in English speech, and medieval scribes reached for aw to write it — the same aw that gives law, saw and dawn. Once the spelling was fixed, the pronunciation moved again and the w became decorative, which is where it still is. Lawrance goes one step further by writing the unstressed final syllable as an a, which is what English actually says: the ending of this name is a hum, and any vowel letter will do for it.
Meaningscholars disagree
of Laurentum
The Roman name is generally traced to a town, whose own name and its relation to the laurel are argued over. The w and the final vowel are both English decisions and touch none of it.
How the name formed
- Laurentius
- Lawrence
- Lawrance
Related forms: Laurent · Lorenzo · Lorenzo · Wawrzyniec
Pronouncing Lawrance
LOR-unss
Two syllables with the weight at the front. Lawrence and Lawrance are said identically; the final vowel is a hum in both.
Nicknames for Lawrance
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
- 1889
- Most boys named
- 195071 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #806reached in 1950
- Change vs 2015
- +40.0%7 in 2018, from 5
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.
Lawrance in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Laurent in French — same name
- Lorenzo in Italian — same name
- Lorenzo in Spanish — same name
- Wawrzyniec in Polish — same name
Lawrances among us
people named Lawrance 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
Lawrance 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
- Said aloud it is entirely familiar and needs no explanation.
- Larry is one of the most established short forms in English.
- It has a form in every Romance language and in Polish, Russian and German.
- Lawrence and Laurence are both standard and will be written instead.
- The changed vowel is silent, so the difference exists only on paper.
- It reads clearly as a name of the first half of the twentieth century.
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Lawrance
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Lawrances are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,500 people named Lawrance are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lawrance in 2025?
- Lawrance is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Lawrance with classmates?
- Lawrance will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More L names
The most-given names starting with L, all years combined.
Larry#1084 · Lawrence#518 · Louis#249 · Logan#53 · Liam#1 · Lucas#10 · Luke#33 · Leonard#637
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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