Laurence - Lawrence

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Laurence and Lawrence are different spellings of the same name (note that '-w-', as shown in its name 'double-you', is derived from '-u-'). They both have the same pronunciation, with (in RP) a first syllable like that in 'foreign' and 'lorry', and the second vowel a shwa: 'LORR-ens', IPA: /ˈlɒr əns/. In GA, the first vowel may be like that an 'awe' and 'saw', or the long 'a' of (RP) 'start' and 'father': /ˈlɔːr əns/ or /ˈlɑːr əns/. There is no rule to know which spelling is appropriate for any individual, either as a forename or a surname.

Be careful to spell the name of people you are studying or quoting in the way they prefer. 
The oldest form of the name was the Latin Laurentius, a cognomen meaning '[a man from] Laurentum' - a town in Latium. Its name is probably pre-Roman.
  • In modern English, the spelling Laurence is more usual as a forename
    • Users of AWE may like to have the spelling of some notable Laurences (as a forename, confirmed:the actors Laurence (''informally'' Larry) Olivier and Laurence Harvey; the writer [Laurence] Laurie Lee (1914-1997) - but note that his near-contemporay Lawrence Durrell (1912-1990) has a '-w-'.
  • the spelling with '-w-' is more usual for surnames, although usage is actually quite fluid. AWE recommends that the name of St Laurence should always be spelled thus. The name given in English is occasionally spelled with an '-a-' in the final syllable (Lawrance), but this would be seen as an error by traditionalists.
    • In French, Laurence is used also as a female forename, where the traditional male form is Laurent. The Italian and Spanish (male) form is Lorenzo, written in Portuguese as Laurenço; the German Laurenz or Lorenz. Scandinavians use Lars, and Greek and various Slavonic languages use variations of Lavrentiy.

In the time of the Portuguese Empire, the African settlement in Mozambique now called Maputo was called Laurenço Marques, after the navigator who expored the bay on which it stands and established the first European forts and trading posts in 1544.