Lance

Where Lance comes from

The surname is derived from a medieval given name Lanzo, short form of names beginning with the Germanic element *land; see land. Doublet of Lanzo.
— Wiktionary's entry for Lance
  • Germanic
  • 1 syllable
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1899
    First appearance
    #1,051 among boys, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1970
    Peak, #76
    4,160 babies named Lance — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1971
    Lance Armstrong born
    cyclist from the United States
  4. 1973
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #148.
  5. 1998
    Lance Stroll born
    Canadian and Belgian racing driver
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from the Germanic languages; by folk etymology associated with a lance.
  • A diminutive of the male given name Lancelot.
  • A male given name transferred from the surname.
Namesakes
  • Lance Armstrong · cyclist from the United States, born 1971
  • Lance Stroll · Canadian and Belgian racing driver, born 1998
  • Lance Henriksen · American actor, born 1940
  • Lance Reddick · American actor, 1962–2023
  • Lance Bass · American singer, dancer, actor, and film and television producer, born 1979

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.