Laurence

What Laurence means

Possibly “laurel”

From the name of a third century Roman martyr, Latin Laurentius, "a person from Laurentum ", the place name possibly derived from laurus (“laurel”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Laurence” (revision 92514358), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Laurence?

US: Rising: up from #2234 in 2015. England & Wales: Steady: #379 in 2015, #401 now.

Biggest US share so far: 1903, when 77 boys got the name (#201 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 18,366 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 2,692 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 3,928 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in WA (0.15 per 1,000 boys), NY (0.06 per 1,000 boys), CA (0.05 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Laurence is #1743 in the US and #401 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 94.9% of US babies named Laurence were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Lawrence578 US · 71 E&W
• Lorence7 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Spelling variants on Wiktionary

• Lawrence

Listed as alternative forms on Wiktionary.

If you like Laurence

Boys

• Francis#420“Frankish (man); a Frank”^*
• Martin#335“of or like Mars”^*
• Mark#244Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1960, with 58,727 babies; 1,416 in 2025
• Paul#262“small”^*
• Quinton#973“queen s town”^*
• Justin#233“just”^*

For a sister

• Virginia#525Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1922, with 19,144 babies; 572 in 2025
• Celina#827Polish form of Celine, meaning “heaven”^*
• Paula#853Editor’s note Up from #889 in 2015 to #853 in 2025 in the US
• Alma#449“nourishing, kind”^*
• Joanna#306“God is gracious”^*
• Laura#379“laurel tree”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Latin, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Laurence’s. Rank is US 2025.