How Many People Are Named Laurence?
An estimated 19,399 people in the United States have the first name Laurence. It is predominantly male (98.8%). The average bearer is 62 years old, and Laurence peaked in popularity in 1952 with 856 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Laurence as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Laurence paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Laurence is overwhelmingly male, 490 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
19,399
About 1 in 17,669 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
98.8% confidence
Average Age
62
years old
Peak Year
1952
856 births
Total Registered
40,117
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Laurence
Laurence is predominantly male (98.8%), though 490 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Laurence as a male name
Ranked #2,196 in 2024
66 male births in 2024
Peak: 1952 (845 births)
Laurence as a female name
Ranked #16,643 in 2022
5 female births in 2022
Peak: 1925 (18 births)
Laurence: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Laurence span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 6,918 babies were registered. Laurence has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Laurence by Decade
How has Laurence tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 303 | 303 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 587 | 548 | 39 | |
| 1900s | 826 | 778 | 48 | |
| 1910s | 3,799 | 3,714 | 85 | |
| 1920s | 5,839 | 5,750 | 89 | |
| 1930s | 4,829 | 4,808 | 21 | |
| 1940s | 6,686 | 6,670 | 16 | |
| 1950s | 6,918 | 6,889 | 29 | |
| 1960s | 4,276 | 4,216 | 60 | |
| 1970s | 1,950 | 1,938 | 12 | |
| 1980s | 1,428 | 1,403 | 25 | |
| 1990s | 1,095 | 1,073 | 22 | |
| 2000s | 677 | 661 | 16 | |
| 2010s | 565 | 554 | 11 | |
| 2020s | 339 | 322 | 17 | |
Laurence by State
Birth registrations for Laurence span all 49 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, California, Illinois. The lowest are in Wyoming, Delaware, New Mexico. On average, about 668 Laurences were registered per state.
Laurence + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Laurence as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Laurence
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
Laurence: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Laurence?
We estimate approximately 19,399 people named Laurence are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 17,669 Americans share this first name.
Is Laurence a common name?
Laurence is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.5% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 40,117 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Laurence most popular?
Laurence reached peak popularity in 1952, when 856 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Laurence is approximately 62 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Laurence a male name?
Laurence is predominantly male. 98.8% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Laurence Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Laurence Smith, Laurence Johnson, Laurence Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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