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...

I prefer Lawrence personally.

My DS is Laurie - his full name is Laurence. He's always known as Laurie though Agree that the full name is good for the birth certificate and for if he fancies using it when he's older.

We get loads of lovely comments about his name!

From ONS 2011 baby names list:

Total number of MALE babies named Laurence = 102

Total number of FEMALE babies named Laurence = 0

I rest my case..

From ONS 2011 baby name list:

Total number of MALE babies named Laurence = 102

Total number of MALE babies named Lawrence = 109

Of course no one in the UK would use Laurence for a girl - it is a FRENCH girls name! Perhaps that is why more people go for Lawrence for a boy, to avoid any confusion of their son living/studying/working in France or other french speaking country.

Agree that Lawrence is a better much choice with Laurence being a girls' name in Belgium and France. Why take the risk (and create a potential embarassing/annoying situation for your ds if he chooses to spend time there) when you can spell in it Lawrence?

Lawrence looks stronger and more masculine. I prefer the nickname Larry for a boy, Laurie looks a little girly, sorry.

My DS is Lawrence. He always gets called Lol though.

But his sister calls him Florence sometimes, just to annoy him.

I like the way Laurence looks,much more than Lawrence. Lawrence is very surnamey.
Also, does it matter if its a girls name in France? People call their sons Sam, Chris etc which can also be girls names in this country and nobody bats an eyelid!

I've only known Lawrences (one in his 50s, one 80s so I don't think it's a new/American fad). I am a fan of surnamey names so that doesn't bother me.

Laurence looks weird to me.

I much prefer Laurie to Larry. Laurie makes me think of Laurie Lee and carefree childhood. Larry of luvvie actors (Olivier) and aggressive oil magnates (Larry Hagman playing JR) and seems much more dated, stuck in the 50s and 60s in my mind.

Famous Lawrences mostly have it as a surname - D.H., of Arabia. Can't think any really negative ones.

I wonder why people think it's bad to have a boy's name that is a girls name in another language. Lots of French boy's names sound feminine to British ears e.g. Dominique, Francois, Olivier but I don't suppose they're bothered. Laurence doesn't actually sound like the girl's name because the emphasis is different.

Btw, we considered Laurence so I like it a lot but one thing that put me off a tiny bit was searching old threads on here and finding the view that 'you can think the nn will be Laurie and use that yourselves but at school they may well become Lol or Loz whether you like it or not.' Depends what the child will accept of course and you can influence that.

Laurence is the spelling for a first name. Lawrence is the spelling for a last name...

I prefer Laurence and Laurie. I know a baby called this and he's lovely.

Nothing wrong with Lawrence though!

Well, I know a french Alexis and people thought he was a girl when he lived in the UK, but I never got the impression that it was a huge issue. So I don't think that is a good enough reason to worry about the spelling in and of itself.

That said, I prefer Lawrence. No special reason, I just feel like it looks better.

@Hopeful90 @Singingatmidnight

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Laurence is much nicer. I don’t like the W in Lawrence. It doesn’t flow as nicely to look at.

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From 2012. This thread is 8 years old.