Lorence
A masculine name of Latin origin meaning "from Laurentum".
Name Census estimates that about 333 living Americans carry the first name Lorence. It is a predominantly male name (99.1% of registrations). The average person named Lorence today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lorence births was 1924 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lorence. 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
333
~ 1 in 1,029,292 Americans
Peak year
1924
20 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,813
Tracked since 1912
Census
Lorence in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 525 people with the first name Lorence, which placed it at #19,901 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#19,901
National first-name rank
People counted
525
525 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
45.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lorence
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lorence is White at 45.1%. The next largest groups are Black (20.2%) and Hispanic (16.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Lorence described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Lorence at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White45.1% · 237
- Black or African American20.2% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino16.0% · 84
- Asian and Pacific Islander13.3% · 70
- Two or more races4.2% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Lorence
Out of the 685 babies given the name Lorence since 1880, 99.1% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Lorence as a male name
- Ranked #8,059 in 2024
- 10 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1924 (20 births)
Lorence as a female name
- Ranked #4,813 in 1921
- 6 female births in 1921
- Peak: 1921 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lorence leans strongly male. 474 people counted with this name were male (90.1%), compared with 52 female bearers (9.9%).
Popularity
Lorence: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lorence from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 112 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lorence 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 Lorence during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lorence
The name Lorence originated from the Latin name Laurentius, which was derived from the Roman family name Laurentius. This name can be traced back to ancient Rome, where it was a common name given to individuals associated with the Laurentine family or those who resided in the Laurentine region.
The name Laurentius itself is derived from the Latin word "laurus," meaning "laurel." The laurel was a symbol of victory and honor in ancient Roman culture, and it was often used to crown victorious athletes, poets, and military leaders. As a result, the name Laurentius carried connotations of triumph, glory, and prestige.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Christian martyrology, where Saint Laurentius, or Saint Lawrence, was a deacon of the Roman Church who was martyred during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Valerian in 258 AD. His bravery and unwavering faith in the face of torture and execution made him a revered figure in Christian history.
Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period, the name Lorence gained popularity across Europe, particularly in Italy, France, and England. Notable individuals who bore this name include Lorence of Březová, a Czech priest and chronicler who lived in the 15th century, and Lorence of Brandenburg, a German prince and military leader during the 16th century.
In the 18th century, Lorence Sterne, an Irish novelist and Anglican clergyman, gained widespread acclaim for his satirical novel "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman." His unique literary style and witty observations on life and society made him a prominent figure in the English literary canon.
During the 19th century, Lorence Oliphant, a British author, traveler, and diplomat, made significant contributions to the field of travel writing with his accounts of his journeys to Russia, the Middle East, and other regions.
In the 20th century, Lorence Picken, a British composer and musician, was renowned for his contributions to the study and preservation of traditional Chinese music. His extensive research and recordings of Chinese folk songs and instrumental pieces played a crucial role in promoting cultural exchange between East and West.
People
Lorence + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lorence 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
Lorence: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lorence?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 333 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lorence 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 1,029,292 US residents.
Is Lorence a common name?
We classify Lorence as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 685 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lorence most popular?
The single biggest year for Lorence was 1924, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lorence is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lorence in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 525 people with the name Lorence, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,901 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Lorence in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Lorence?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lorence leans strongly male. 474 people counted with this name were male (90.1%), compared with 52 female bearers (9.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Lorence?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lorence is White at 45.1%. The next largest groups are Black (20.2%) and Hispanic (16.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Lorence most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lorence in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.1% (237 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Lorence in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lorence a male name?
Yes, 99.1% of people registered as Lorence 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 Lorence still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lorence 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 Lorence 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.
How many people are named Lorence?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.