Given name & surname · also French
Laurence
“crowned with laurel; from the laurel tree”·“man from Laurentum; crowned with laurel”·“a graceful woman”
In English use, Laurence has a related form in Lauren. In French use, Lauren carries the interpretation “crowned with laurel; from the laurel tree.” Laurence is a variant of Lawrence. One Latin interpretation is “man from Laurentum; crowned with laurel.”
Original FrenchLaurent
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Laurence has a related form in Lauren. In French use, Lauren carries the interpretation “crowned with laurel; from the laurel tree.” Laurence is a variant of Lawrence. One Latin interpretation is “man from Laurentum; crowned with laurel.” In French use, Laurence is a feminine form of Laurent. One French interpretation is “a graceful woman.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with French and Latin naming traditions.
How it developed
In French use, Laurence is used as a feminine counterpart of Laurent.
The story
Laurence was in use during the Middle Ages.
Laurence through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 40,215
- 39,720 boys · 495 girls
- Most popular year
- 1952
- 856 babies
- 2025
- 98
- #1,747 for boys · #16,263 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +6%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 93 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,747 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 6.8% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 845 in 1952. It also appeared in 5 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (9). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 22,752 as a first name in 2020; 2,803 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Laurence’s family of names
In English usage, Laurence has a diminutive in Larry. Laurence shares a linguistic root with Lorenzo. Laurence has a related form in Laura.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Laurence has relatives in 55 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
Latinwhere Laurence comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 14
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 74
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Laurentmasculine form · French
- LaurentiusLatin, German
- Lorenzocognate · Spanish, Italian
- Lorenequivalent
- Larscognate · Swedish, Norwegian Nynorsk
- Larkpatronymic from · English
- LorenzaItalian, Spanish
- Lorenzcognate · lmo, German
Show 52 moreShow fewer
- Lauricognate · Finnish, Estonian
- Lauranceequivalent
- LaurisLatvian
- Лаврентииequivalent
- Lloriánequivalent
- Llorienzoequivalent
- Lorintequivalent
- Wawrzynequivalent
- Лаврентійequivalent
- Lurèinsequivalent
- Laurysequivalent
- ЛорансRussian
- ЛоренсRussian
- ЛаврентийRussian
- ΛαυρέντιοςGreek
- LaurêncioPortuguese
- LourençoPortuguese
- LaurentyPolish
- Loreingallo
- LlorençaCatalan
- LôrensôVietnamese
- ŁorensoVenetian
- Лавре́нтійUkrainian
- LovrencSlovene
- VavrinecSlovak
- LovroSerbo-Croatian
- ЛовроSerbo-Croatian
- Labhrainncognate · Scottish Gaelic
- Лавре́нтийRussian
- LaurențiuRomanian
- Wawrzynieccognate · Polish
- Laurencjuszcognate · Polish
- Rorẽsotpw
- LafranzOld Norse
- LaurençOccitan
- LauritsNorwegian
- Louothainsnrf
- LurenzoNeapolitan
- LaurynasLithuanian
- LoénsoLigurian
- Laurënzlld
- ローランJapanese
- ロレンスJapanese
- Labhráscognate · Irish
- LárusIcelandic
- LőrincHungarian
- LaasiGreenlandic
- LourenzoGalician
- LurinçFriulian
- LaarsFaroese
- LavransFaroese
- LaŭrencoEsperanto
And 14 more.
People named Laurence
- Laurence OlivierEnglish actor and director (1907–1989)
- Laurence SterneAnglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric (1713–1768)
- Laurence FishburneAmerican actorborn 1961
- Larry NivenAmerican writer (born 1938)
- Kim PeekAmerican savant (1951–2009)
- Larry Mullen Jr.Irish drummer, member of the rock group U2born 1961
- Laurence HarveyLithuanian-born British actor (1928-1973)
- Larry FinkAmerican Billionaire Business Person and Board Member, Chairman and CEO of BlackRockborn 1952
- Laurence J. PeterCanadian educator (1919–1990)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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