Lawrence (surname) explained
Lawrence is an English, Scottish and Irish surname. It is derived from Middle English or old French given name Laurence; itself derived from Latin Laurentius. The Oxford dictionary of family names of Britain lists Laurence and McLaren as variants.[1]
Laurentius, a Latin given name which means "from Laurentium", derives from the word laurel, a Roman symbol of victory.[2]
Notable people
A–D
- Abbott Lawrence (1792–1855), a noted merchant and founder of Lawrence, Massachusetts
- Abraham Riker Lawrence (1832–1917), New York Supreme Court Justice
- Allan Lawrence (politician) (1925–2008), Ontario provincial MPP and federal MP
- Alonzo Lawrence (born 1989), American football player
- Amos Adams Lawrence (1814–1886), abolitionist and founder of the University of Kansas
- Amos Lawrence (1786–1852), Massachusetts philanthropist and politician
- Andrew Lawrence (disambiguation)
- Bert Lawrence (1923–2007), Ontario provincial MPP
- Bill Lawrence (TV producer), American screenwriter and the creator of Scrubs
- Brenton Lawrence (born 1984), Australian Rugby League player
- Brian Lawrence (born 1976), American baseball pitcher
- Bruno Lawrence (1941–1995), New Zealand actor and musician
- Carmen Lawrence (born 1948), Australian politician
- Carol Lawrence (born 1932), American actress most often associated with musical theatre
- Carolyn Lawrence (born 1967), American voice actress
- Casey Lawrence (born 1987), American baseball pitcher
- Charles Lawrence (British Army officer) (1709–1760), British military officer and later governor of Nova Scotia
- Chris Lawrence (rugby league) (born 1988), Australian Rugby League player
- Christopher Lawrence (disambiguation)
- Claudia Lawrence, disappeared in York, England in 2009
- Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence (1791–1861), Mayor of New York City, and US Congressman
- Curly Lawrence (1883–1967), British model engineer
- Cyril Lawrence (1920–2020), English footballer
- D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930), English author
- Davey Lawrence (born 1985), English ice hockey goaltender
- David Lawrence (disambiguation)
- David Lawrence (cricketer) (born 1964), English cricketer
- Debbi Lawrence (born 1961), American racewalker
- Derek Lawrence, English record producer
- Dexter Lawrence (born 1997), American football player
- Don Lawrence (1928–2003), British comic book artist
- Dorothy Bell Lawrence (1911–1973), New York assemblywoman
- Doug Lawrence (disambiguation)
- Douglas Lawrence, Australian organist, conductor, and choir director
E–J
- Edith Lawrence (1890–1973), British artist
- Edward A. Lawrence (1831–1883), New York politician
- Effingham Lawrence (1820–1878), US Congressman from Louisiana
- Ellis F. Lawrence, architect and founder of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts at the University of Oregon
- Ernest O. Lawrence (1901–1958), Nobel Prize-winning physicist: best known for inventing the cyclotron, and his later work in the Manhattan Project
- Eugene Lawrence (born 1986), American basketball player
- Fenda Lawrence, 18th-century slave trader
- Florence Lawrence (1886–1938), inventor and silent film actress from Hamilton, Ontario
- Frances Lawrence (disambiguation)
- Francis Lawrence (disambiguation)
- Frederick William Lawrence (1892–1974), Canadian–American airbrush painter
- Frederick Newbold Lawrence (1834–1916), American president of the New York Stock Exchange
- Gaylon Lawrence (1934–2012), American businessman and farmer
- Geoffrey Lawrence (disambiguation)
- George Alfred Lawrence (1827–1876), English novelist
- George Newbold Lawrence (1806–1895), American businessman and amateur ornithologist
- George P. Lawrence, former U.S. Representative from Massachusetts
- George St. Patrick Lawrence (1804–1884), English soldier
- George Van Eman Lawrence (1818–1904), member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
- Gertrude Lawrence (1898–1952), English actress and musical comedy performer
- Hal Lawrence (1920–1994), Canadian naval officer, historian and author
- Henry Lawrence (1806–1857) British soldier
- Henry Lawrence (1848–1902), English rugby union player
- Herbert Lawrence (1861–1943) British soldier
- Holly Lawrence (born 1990), British triathlete
- Iain Lawrence (born 1978), British film director and screenwriter
- Jacob Lawrence (1917–2000), American painter known for "dynamic cubism" style
- Jacqueline Lawrence (canoeist), (born 1982), Australian slalom canoeist
- James Lawrence (born 1992), English footballer
- James Lawrence (1781–1813), American naval captain and hero of the War of 1812
- Jennifer Lawrence (born 1990), American actress
- Jennifer Lawrence (Stop the Steal), political activist
- Joey Lawrence (born 1976), American comic actor
- John Hundale Lawrence, a nuclear medicine pioneer, brother of Ernest O. Lawrence
- John L. Lawrence (1785–1849), New York politician
- John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence (1811–79), British statesman
- Joseph Lawrence (Pennsylvania politician) (1786–1886), member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
- Josie Lawrence (born 1959), English actress and comedian
- Justin Lawrence (disambiguation), several people
K–S
- Katrina Lawrence (born 1983), Australian slalom canoeist
- Key Lawrence (born 2001), American college football player
- Lawrence (1831 cricketer), an English cricketer whose first name is not known
- Liam Lawrence (born 1981), English-born Irish footballer
- Liz Lawrence, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- Margaret Morgan Lawrence (1914-2019), American psychiatrist
- Martin Lawrence (born 1965), American actor and comedian
- Mary Lawrence (actor) (1918–1991), American film and television actress and author
- Mary Lawrence (sculptor) (1868–1945), American sculptor
- Matthew Lawrence, (born 1974), English footballer
- Matthew Lawrence, (1596-1652), English puritan preacher
- M. Larry Lawrence, United States Ambassador
- Michael Lawrence (disambiguation)
- Mike Lawrence (bridge) (born 1940), American bridge player
- Mr. Lawrence (born 1969), American actor
- Nathaniel Lawrence (1761–1797), New York politician
- Patrice Lawrence, British writer and journalist
- Peter Lawrence (disambiguation), several people
- Philip Lawrence (1947–1995), murdered headmaster of St. George's Roman Catholic School
- Raghava Lawrence (born 1976), Indian choreographer, actor, director and producer
- Rashard Lawrence (born 1998), American football player
- R. D. Lawrence, Canadian naturalist and writer
- Reginald Frederick Lawrence, South African entomologist
- Robert Henry Lawrence Jr. (1935–1967) the first Black American astronaut and member of the proposed Manned Orbiting Laboratory program of the U.S. Air Force
- Rosalyn Lawrence (born 1989), Australian slalom canoeist
- Sally Ward Lawrence Hunt Armstrong Downs, also known as Sallie Ward, (1827–1896), American socialite.
- Samuel Lawrence (disambiguation)
- Samuel Lawrence (congressman) (1773–1837), New York politician
- Samuel Lawrence (Canadian politician) (1879–1959), Canadian politician
- Scott Lawrence (born 1963), American film and television actor and voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars video games
- Sharon Lawrence (born 1961), American television actress
- Sihna Lawrence, member of the cabinet of Federated States of Micronesia
- Murder of Stephen Lawrence
- Steve Lawrence (born 1935), American singer, comedian, and actor
- Stringer Lawrence (1697–1775), English soldier
- Syd Lawrence, British bandleader and founder of the Syd Lawrence Orchestra big band
T–Z
- T. E. Lawrence (1888–1935), British soldier and author ("Lawrence of Arabia")
- Tayna Lawrence (born 1975), Jamaican athlete
- Thomas Lawrence (1769–1830), English portrait painter
- Tommy Lawrence (1940–2018), Scottish footballer
- Toni Lawrence (born 1976), convicted of criminal confinement in the torture-murder of Shanda Sharer
- Tracy Lawrence (born 1968), American country singer and musician
- Trevor Lawrence (born 1999), American football player
- Trevor Lawrence (disambiguation), several other people
- Vicki Lawrence (born 1949), American actress, singer, and comedian
- Washington H. Lawrence (1840–1900), founder of National Carbon Company
- Wendell Lawrence (born 1967), Bahamian triple jumper
- William Lawrence (disambiguation)
- William Appleton Lawrence, 3rd Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts
- William Lawrence (biologist) (1783–1867), English surgeon and natural historian, a pre-Darwinian advocate of anthropoid origin of mankind
- William Lawrence (bishop), the 7th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
- William Lawrence (Ohio Democrat), member of the United States House of Representatives from the 17th District of Ohio
- William Lawrence (Ohio Republican), Republican politician from Ohio
- William P. Lawrence (1930–2005), United States naval officer
- William Witherle Lawrence (1876–1936), American philologist
Fictional characters
- Carrie and Jack Lawrence, characters in the 1997 American comedy movie Fathers' Day
- Eula Lawrence, playable character in the 2020 video game Genshin Impact
See also
Notes and References
- Book: Parkin, Harry . The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain . Lawrence . Oxford . 2021 . 9780198868255 .
- Web site: Lawrence Surname Meaning, History & Origin . 2023-03-30 . Select Surnames . en-US.
