Of Latin origin.
Laurence is both a masculine and feminine name.
From the Roman name “Laurentius”, meaning “from Laurentum”. Laurentum was an ancient city. The name of the city is possibly associated with the word “laurus”.
Also from the Latin word “laurus”, meaning “laurel”. A flowering plant and “laurus nobilis” and aromatic tree.
The laurel bears several symbolisms.
In Greek mythology, the god Apollo was represented wearing a laurel wreath on his head.
These wreaths were awarded to those who won in the ancient Olympic games and to poet winners of the poetic competitions.
Alternative forms of the name are Lawrence, Lorens, Larry, Lauren, Lars, Lorenzo, Enzo, Renzo, Lasse, etc.
Laurence is not ranked in the top-1000 baby names in the U.S.A.
Famous male bearers are Laurence Olivier, Laurence Fishburne, Laurence Sterne, Laurence Harvey, Laurence Fox.
Additional information concerning the Ancient Roman naming system:
According to the Roman naming rules, the basic elements of Roman names were three. A praenomen, a nomen, and a cognomen.
A “praenomen” was the first name, indicating the personal name.
A “nomen” was the second name, indicating the ‘gens’ to which the bearer of the name belonged. Gens, meaning which group of families they belonged sharing a common “nomen”.
“Nomen” would stand as the group of loosely connected of families claiming common ancestors. Nomen were always patrilinear, meaning from the father.
A “cognomen” was the third name and was something like the surname. Cognomina (plural of cognomen) were usually inherited and rarely given to the bearer by general consensus by prominent members of the community.
There were several types of “cognomina”, such as geographical, adoptive, occupational, etc. In very rare cases the “cognomina” could be metronymic, meaning from the mother’s “nomen”.