Lawsen
A name of uncertain origin, possibly from a surname derived from a place name.
Name Census estimates that about 200 living Americans carry the first name Lawsen. It is a predominantly male name (97.5% of registrations). The average person named Lawsen today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lawsen births was 2019 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lawsen. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
200
~ 1 in 1,713,772 Americans
Peak year
2019
19 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,375
Tracked since 2005
Gender
Gender distribution for Lawsen
Lawsen leans heavily male at 97.5% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Lawsen as a male name
- Ranked #13,375 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (18 births)
Lawsen as a female name
- Ranked #16,941 in 2019
- 5 female births in 2019
- Peak: 2019 (5 births)
Popularity
Lawsen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lawsen from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 127 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lawsen by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Lawsen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lawsens live
Origin
Meaning and history of Lawsen
The name Lawsen is of English origin, derived from the Old English personal name Lawrence, which itself comes from the Latin name Laurentius. The name Laurentius is thought to have been derived from the Latin word "laurus," meaning "laurel," a plant associated with victory and honor in ancient Rome.
The name Lawrence gained popularity in medieval Europe, particularly after the veneration of St. Lawrence, a 3rd-century deacon and martyr of the Catholic Church. St. Lawrence is believed to have been born in Valencia, Spain, around 225 AD, and was martyred in Rome in 258 AD during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Valerian.
The variant spelling "Lawsen" emerged in England during the Middle Ages, likely due to regional dialects and the influence of Norman French on the English language after the Norman Conquest in 1066. This spelling has been used throughout English-speaking regions, particularly in the United Kingdom and parts of North America.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Lawsen can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of landowners in England compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Lawsone" in the book, suggesting its use in the late 11th century.
Notable historical figures with the name Lawsen include:
1. Lawsen Ludlow (c. 1587 - 1659), an English lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Long Parliament during the English Civil War.
2. Lawsen Fitzpatrick (1801 - 1863), an Irish-American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama.
3. Lawsen Holbrook (1815 - 1871), an American lawyer and politician who served as the 18th Governor of Vermont from 1861 to 1863.
4. Lawsen Trent (1872 - 1944), a British painter and illustrator known for his landscapes and portraiture during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
5. Lawsen Pemberton (1906 - 1987), an American businessman and philanthropist who served as the president of the Pemberton Corporation, a major food manufacturing company.
While the name Lawsen has remained in use throughout history, it has never been an extremely common name, particularly in more recent times. However, its origins and connections to the venerated St. Lawrence have contributed to its enduring presence in various English-speaking regions.
People
Lawsen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lawsen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lawsen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lawsen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 200 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lawsen going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,713,772 US residents.
Is Lawsen a common name?
We classify Lawsen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 202 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lawsen most popular?
The single biggest year for Lawsen was 2019, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lawsen is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Lawsen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lawsen a male name?
Yes, 97.5% of people registered as Lawsen in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Lawsen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lawsen in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Lawsen can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Lawsen?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.