Lawrence
Masculine · “from Laurentum”
Lawrence is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 461,170 boys against 2,187 girls since 1880. See Lawrence as a girl name
Saint Lawrence was roasted on a gridiron, and the story says that partway through he told his executioners to turn him over because he was done on that side. On the strength of that line the church made him the patron saint of cooks, which is either the darkest joke in the calendar or the best.
How old is the name Lawrence?
Lawrence was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Lawrence alive today was born around 1948, making them about 77 years old. About 230,000 people named Lawrence are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lawrence most popular?
Lawrence peaked in 1942, reaching #30 nationally. Today it ranks #518, 488 places below that high. See the whole 1942 chart.
Where it comes from
From Laurentum to Lawrence
The story of Lawrence
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. The gridiron and the line about being done on one side were recorded within a couple of centuries, and whether or not either is true, they made him one of the most venerated saints in Rome. His feast is the tenth of August, which is why a French explorer who entered a gulf in the New World on that day in 1535 named it after him — and why a river, a seaway and half the map of eastern Canada carry the name now.
Meaning
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.
How the name formed
- Laurentum
- Laurentius
- Laurence
- Lawrence
Related forms: Lorenzo · Laurent · Lorenzo · Lars · Wawrzyniec · Lorcan
Pronouncing 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.
Nicknames for Lawrence
High
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 195110,266 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #30reached in 1942
- Change vs 2022
- +6.8%578 in 2025, from 541
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.
Lawrence in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Lorenzo in Italian — same name
- Laurent in French — same name
- Lorenzo in Spanish — same name
- Lars in Swedish — same name
- Wawrzyniec in Polish — same name
- Lorcan in Irish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Lawrences among us
people named Lawrence are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 2,955 born in 2025 was named Lawrence
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Francis test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Lawrence's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Francis climbed just as high around 1915, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Francis's path sketches the road Lawrence is walking now.
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 scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Lawrence is headed
Lawrence should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Lawrence beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Lawrence in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- 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.
- Continuous documented use in English for eight hundred years.
- 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.
- The very few girls given this spelling will be read as boys on every form.
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What they receive
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Lawrence
Masculine · #518 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Lawrences are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 230,000 people named Lawrence are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lawrence in 2025?
- Lawrence ranks #518 among US boy names in 2025, with 578 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Lawrence?
- About 1 in every 2,955 US boys born in 2025 was named Lawrence — 578 in all.
- Will my child share the name Lawrence with classmates?
- Lawrence will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Lawrence
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Truett#518 · Denver#518 · Kobe#518 · Marcos#516 · Callen#516 · Moses#515 · Tripp#522 · Frank#513
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Lawrence? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Lawrence and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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