Lawrence (surname)

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.

Laurentius, a Latin given name which means "from Laurentium", derives from the word laurel, a Roman symbol of victory.

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