Lawson
Meaning
surname, "son of Lawrence"
The story
Lawson is the son of Lawrence, a surname built the plain English way, and the father is one of the ledger's old kings: about 460,400 Americans carry Lawrence across the record. The son waited a long time for his turn: a century between about 140 and 700 a decade, steady and unremarkable, then the surname wave found it, about 730 in the 1990s, 2,800 in the 2000s, 6,500 in the 2010s, and 5,100 so far this decade, closing on the full 2010s with years to run. It goes to boys about 18,400 to 610. The -son squad keeps growing because the formula keeps working: a familiar first name, one respectful step away, worn like an heirloom with the tags still on. Lawrence has the laurels; Lawson gets the playground.
Lawson around the world
One shared root links 7 names across 3 languages.
Shared root: from Latin Laurentius "man from Laurentum", a city name Rome linked by tradition to laurus "laurel"
The constellation
More branches
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Lawson peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
33 people · the #88,550 first name in Brazil · median age 32
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Lawson
Most people given the name Lawson in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Lawson deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Lawson truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Lawson fits with your family’s names and surname.
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