Meaning & origin
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1915. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Lawless through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 29
- 29 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1917
- 7 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #13,127 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 13,127 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 7 in 1917. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 8,628 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.
Lawless’s family of names
In English usage, Lawless as a surname has a related form in LAWLIS.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Lawless, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Lytle
“small, (ironic) big, not much, younger”
>99% boys
Gaines
“one who acquires”
>99% boys
Yates
“keeper of the gates”
>99% boys
Hale
“from the hall of light; a heroine” · “from the hall; a hero”
>99% boys
Parley
“one who negotiates” · “a reluctant man”
93% boys · 7% girls
Lamb
Lamb is a surname from Middle English, ultimately from French.
>99% boys
Lester
“roman fort” · “a man from Leicester”
>99% boys
Battle
Battle is a surname from Middle English.
>99% boys