Laurence is in modern use as an English masculine and a French feminine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

. The modern English masculine name is a variant of Lawrence and originates from a French form of the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''Laurentius'', a name meaning "man from

Laurentum Laurentum was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman city of Latium situated between Ostia Antica, Ostia and Lavinium, on the west coast of the Italian Peninsula southwest of Rome. Roman writers regarded it as the original capital of Italy, before Lavin ...

". The French feminine name Laurence is derived from the same source and is used in French-speaking countries as a form of the masculine '' Laurent''. The name was used in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

for both males and females in honor of

Saint Laurence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman emperor Valerian ordered in 258. ...

, one of the seven deacons of Rome. In England, it was also given in reference to Saint Laurence of Canterbury. In other languages: Lorenzo ( Italian, Spanish), Lorenz ( German). In Ireland, Laurence has traditionally been used as an

Anglicization Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English languag ...

of the Irish masculine name Lorcan or Lorcán.

Usage

Laurence, used as a spelling variant of the more popular Lawrence, was in regular use for boys in the

Anglosphere The Anglosphere, also known as the Anglo-American world, is a Western-led sphere of influence among the Anglophone countries. The core group of this sphere of influence comprises five developed countries that maintain close social, cultura ...

since the medieval era. It was most popular for boys in English-speaking countries during the late 19th century and during the first half of the 20th century. As a feminine name, Laurence was at the height of popularity in France between 1965 and 1971, when it was among the top 10 names for French girls. It was among the top 100 names for French girls between 1953 and 1984. In French-speaking Quebec, Canada, Laurence has been among the top 100 names for French Canadian girls between 1984 and 2023, and was among the top 10 names for girls between 2002 and 2005 and again in 2008. The name has been in rare, occasional use for girls in English-speaking countries, where Laurence remains a primarily masculine name. Twelve American newborn girls were given the name Laurence in 1961, the year that 16-year-old American Olympic figure skater

Laurence Owen Laurence Rochon "Laurie" Owen (; May 9, 1944 – February 15, 1961) was an American figure skater. She was the 1961 U.S. National Champion and represented the United States at the 1960 Winter Olympics, where she placed sixth. She was the ...

died with the entire United States figure skating team in the crash of Sabena Flight 548 in Belgium. No more than four newborn American girls were named Laurence in either 1960 or 1962. https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/limits.html Laurence Owen was named in honor of her Canadian paternal grandmother.

Given name

Men

* Laurence Burt (1925–2015), British sculptor and educator * Laurence Neil Creme, known professionally as Lol Creme, British musician * Laurence Ilsley Duncan (1906–1982), justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court * Laurence Ekperigin (born 1988), British-American basketball player in the Israeli National League *

Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. Throughout his career, he has gained recognition for his roles on stage and screen as militant and authoritative characters. List of awards and nominations received by Laur ...

(born 1961), American actor * Laurence Fox (born 1978), British actor * Laurence S. Geller, British-born, US-based real estate investor. *

Laurence Ginnell Laurence Ginnell (baptised 9 April 1852 – 17 April 1923) was an Irish nationalist politician, lawyer and Member of Parliament (MP) of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as member of the Irish Parliamentary ...

, Irish politician * Laurence Godfrey (archer), British athlete * Laurence Godfrey (physics lecturer), regular and controversial contributor to the

Usenet Usenet (), a portmanteau of User's Network, is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose UUCP, Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Elli ...

newsgroups 'soc.culture.British' and 'soc.culture.Canada' * Laurence Golborne, Chilean mining and energy minister *

Laurence Harvey Laurence Harvey (born Zvi Mosheh Skikne; 1 October 192825 November 1973) was a Lithuanian-born British actor and film director. He was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents and emigrated to Union of South Africa, South Africa at an early age, before ...

, Lithuanian-born actor * Laurence Keitt, Confederate general * Laurence "Laurie" Lee (1914–1997), British poet and novelist * Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, British television presenter and designer * Laurence McKeown, Provisional Irish Republican Army member * Laurence Myers (1858–99), American world-record-setting runner *

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

(1907–1989), British actor and director * Laurence Platt (born 1950), American writer * Laurence "Larry" Rickard (born 1975), British actor, writer and comedian; one half of the duo ' Larry & George' and one sixth of the comedy troupe Them There * Laurence J. Rittenband (1905–1993), American judge * Laurence Sullivan, British writer * Laurence Andrew Tolhurst, known professionally as

Lol Tolhurst Laurence Andrew Tolhurst (born 3 February 1959) is an English musician, songwriter, producer, and author. He was a founding member of the Cure, for which he first played drums before switching to keyboards. He stayed a member of the Cure until ...

, British musician * Laurence Tribe, American professor of constitutional law * Laurence Tureaud (born 1952), known professionally as

Mr. T Laurence T (born Laurence Tureaud; May 21, 1952), known professionally as Mr. T, is an American actor and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series ''The A ...

, American actor and wrestler * St Laurence O'Toole, or Lorcán Ua Tuathail, Irish Roman Catholic Saint * Laurence of Canterbury, the second

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

* Laurence Wachowski (born 1965), known as Lana Wachowski since the 2000s, American film director

Women

* Laurence Broze (born 1960), Belgian applied mathematician, statistician, and economist *

Laurence des Cars Laurence des Cars (born Laurence Élisabeth de Pérusse des Cars on 13 June 1966) is a French museum curator and art historian. Since September 2021, she has served as director of the Louvre Museum, having previously headed the Musée d'Orsay an ...

(born 1966), French curator and art historian * Laurence Equilbey (born 1962), French conductor * Laurence Fournier Beaudry (born 1992), Canadian ice dancer * Laurence Gayte (born 1965), French politician * Laurence Leboeuf (born 1985), Canadian actress *

(1944-1961), American Olympic figure skater * Laurence Rochat (born 1979), Swiss cross-country skier who has competed since 1996 * Laurence Sailliet (born 1973), French politician * Laurence Tubiana (born 1951), French Ambassador responsible for COP21 * Laurence Vichnievsky (born 1955), French politician and magistrate

Surname

* Ashley Laurence (born 1966), American actress and visual artist * Christopher Laurence (1929-2025), British Anglican priest * Duncan Laurence (born 1994), Dutch singer, representing Netherlands in Eurovision Song Contest 2019 * Elizabeth Laurence (born 1949), English classical mezzo-soprano singer * Frederic Laurence (1896-1982), British air ace * Frederick Laurence (1884-1942), British composer and orchestral manager * French Laurence (17571809), English lawyer and politician, brother of Richard * Henry Laurence, multiple people * Jacqueline Laurence (19322024), French-born Brazilian actress and theatre director * John Zachariah Laurence (182970), English ophthalmologist * Margaret Laurence (1926-1987), Canadian novelist and short story writer * Oona Laurence (born 2002), American actress * Richard Laurence (17601838), English Hebraist and Anglican churchman, brother of French *

Samuel Laurence Samuel Laurence (also spelled Lawrence; 1812–28 February 1884) was a British portrait painter. Life He was born at Guildford, Surrey, in 1812, and early manifested a great love for art. The first portraits which he exhibited were at the Socie ...

(181284), British portrait painter * Stephen Laurence (born before 1998), American philosopher * Timothy Laurence (born 1955) retired British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer and second husband of

Anne, Princess Royal Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950) is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King ...

* William L. Laurence (18881977), Lithuanian-American science journalist for The New York Times (193064)

References

{{given name, type=both English-language masculine given names English masculine given names Masculine given names French masculine given names English feminine given names French feminine given names Feminine given names Surnames from given names

Usage

Given name

Men

Women

Surname

See also

References