Laurence

Where Laurence comes from

From the name of a third century Roman martyr, Latin Laurentius, "a person from Laurentum", the place name possibly derived from laurus (“laurel”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Laurence
  • Latin
  • 2 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1713
    Laurence Sterne born
    Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #341 among boys — 25 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1903
    Peak, #201
    77 babies named Laurence — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1907
    Laurence Olivier born
    English actor and director
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Latin, feminine equivalent Lauren.
Namesakes
  • Laurence Olivier · English actor and director, 1907–1989
  • Laurence Sterne · Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric, 1713–1768
  • Laurence Fishburne · American actor, born 1961
  • Laurence Harvey · Lithuanian-born British actor, 1928–1973
  • Laurence J. Peter · Canadian educator, 1919–1990

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.