What's your favourite spelling of Lawrence/Laurence and why?

[DangerMousey]

I am pondering putting Laurence/Lawrence on our shortlist of boys' names, but am not sure which spelling I prefer.

Does anyone have a preference? are there reasons to prefer one above the other that I am missing?? (is one more old fashioned? Are there any famous/infamous Law/Laurences I should be aware of??).

Also, what do you think of this as a boy's name in general? If we go with it, we will probably call him Laurie all the time anyway which I love, but I would rather give him the full name on his birth certificate, so he can use it when he's older, if he prefers...

Laurence 'cause it's the 'correct' spelling. It's logical to have a Laurie from Laurence but less so from Lawrence.

But, yes, I love the name!

Laurence looks to me like a first name, Lawrence like a surname. No idea if that's actually the case though.

It's on my list too, I prefer the Laurence spelling from the laurel tree. And I like Laurie for short too. My husband has an Uncle Lolly though!!

Laurence... Because I know one. Lawrence looks wrong to me.

I'd definitely go with Laurence and 'Laurie' as nn. Love it. Many years ago I nannied for a lovely boy called Laurence and my friend has a 3 year old Laurence (Laurie most of the time). Some people may argue that Laurence is very similar spelling to a French girl's name, but I agree that the 'u' makes me think first name and the 'w' a surname. I

Laurence because I like the nn Laurie (Lawrie looks wrong to me)

I too was going to say 'Laurence' because it's the "proper" way.

V glad I checked now!! I hadn't thought that one was more surnamey! Thank-you :)

Laurence is the female version of Laurent and I know quite a few lovely female Laurences. A bit like Florence and Florent.

Lawrence is unequivocably masculine in all languages.

Lawrence.

Laurence and Laurie look very feminine to me. You never know where your ds may work, study or live one day - Laurence is a 100% female name in France!

Lawrence

Lawrence. Although its a heinous name.

Lawrence without a doubt!

Laurence is not only a girls name (in French speaking countries) but the nickname Laurie sounds so girly, like a nickname for Laura.

"Some people may argue that Laurence is very similar spelling to a French girl's name"

No, it IS a French girls name.

I would go with Laurence.

I'm a bit about all of the references to international spellings - did I miss something by OP? Lots of names change gender/meaning in different languages, it's a minefield!

My DF was very when my ILs first called him Simone but we cope!

Laurence, as it's my dad's name. He's A Laurie and I don't think I've ever met another one.

Also Laurence Rickard from Horrible Histories, who is cool. But he's a Larry.

Laurence. It may well be a French girls' name, but it is also a perfectly legitimate way to spell a British boys' name

I would go with Laurence, because its the way my uncle spelled his name, and he was awesome (flew a Lancaster Bomber in WWII).

I think it's a great name choice, and Laurie sounds no more feminine to my ears than any other boys' nn with an "ie" ending (Ozzy, Olly, Toby, Eddie)

p.s Larry is very cool too

But why choose a name for a boy that is clearly a girls' name in our neighbouring country? Especially when there is a version (Lawrence) that is clearly masculine.

That is the great thing about a global site as mumsnet - especially in an ever globalising world.

But feel free to ignore this advice, op.

I like Larry as well!

I prefer Laurence.

I have a unisex name and it has never bothered me, so what if it is a girls name in France you don't get many laurence girls in the uk

Yes, I know it's a girl's name in France. It's a boy's name in UK. If that's where OP is living, i'd definitely go with Laurence. Much nicer spelling IMO. If we worried about how our DC's names were perceived in other countries, we'd never ended up naming them. Go with your gut, OP. I'd go with LaUrence (have I mentioned that already?)!

I love, love, love this name. Just recommended it to another mum on her post too ironically! I coudn't care less how it is spelt! But perhaps Laurence with nickname Laurie makes more sense.

I would spell it Lawrence. Looks more masculine and 'solid' to me.

I know a French (male) Laurent, that is nice too. But it makes sense that Laurence is the female form. Like Florence is to Florent.

I think Lawrence is a surname that has become a first name in the US (since we're being international) and spread a bit from there. Laurence is the British first name.