Lawernce vs Lawton
American parents have registered 2,866 Lawtons since 1880, against 1,050 Lawernces. Lawton is still ahead, with 36 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Lawernce Lawton
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 129 years in which either name was published, Lawton for 114 years and Lawernce for 15 years. The lead changed hands 14 times.
- 1889–1942 Lawton ahead, apart from one short spell
- 1949–1960 Lawernce ahead, apart from one short spell
- 1961–2025 Lawton ahead, apart from one short spell
9 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Lawernce | Lawton | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 1,050 | 2,866 |
| Most in one year | 35 | 53 |
| Babies in 2025 | under 5 | 36 |
| Estimated living today | 460 | 1,700 |
| Median age today | 69 | 25 |
| Peak year | 1956 | 2021 |
| Best rank | 1,298th boys | 2,652nd boys |
| Rank in 2025 | unranked | 3,240th |
| First recorded | 1912 | 1889 |
| Girls / boys | 0 / 1,050 | 5 / 2,861 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Lawernces alive today are over 69; half the Lawtons are over 25. That is 44 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Lawernce and Lawton.