# 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.

## Notable people
### 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, his work in the Manhattan Project, and founding Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
* 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
* Mary V. Tingley Lawrence (d. 1931), American writer, customs inspector
* 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

* Johnny Lawrence, character in the Karate Kid franchise
* Carrie and Jack Lawrence, characters in the 1997 American comedy movie Fathers' Day
* Eula Lawrence, playable character in the 2020 video game Genshin Impact