Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Lawson

Lawson is the transferred use of an English patronymic surname meaning “son of Laurence/Lawrence” from “Law” which was a medieval pet form of Laurence. The English borrowed Laurence/Lawrence from the French, originally derived from the Latin Laurentius essentially meaning "someone from Laurentum.” Laurentum was an ancient Roman city in the Latium region southwest of Rome, and some Roman historians considered it as the first capital of the Latins. As such, Laurentius was a common Roman given name during the classical era, and the name has persisted for millennia through the Middle Ages and into modern times in many forms (Laurence, Lawrence, Lars, Lorenz, Lorenzo, etc). The name of the ancient city of Laurentum may have been derived from the Latin word “laurus” which means “laurel” (a symbol of wisdom and accomplishment). As a given name, Lawson came into use in Australia in honor of Henry Lawson (1867-1922), a highly regarded poet and fiction writer (often cited as Australia’s “greatest writer”).

All About the Baby Name – Lawson

Personality

OF THE BOY NAME LAWSON

The Three energy is powerful and enthusiastic. These personalities are cheerful, full of self-expression, and often quite emotional. They have an artistic flair and "gift-of-gab" that makes them natural entertainers. Their joyfulness bubbles over, and their infectious exuberance draws a crowd. The Three personality is like a child - forever young and full of delight. They are charming, witty, and generally happy people. The Three personality lives in the "now" and has a spontaneous nature. Threes seem to live with a bright and seemingly unbreakable aura that attracts others to them. In turn, they are deeply loyal and loving to their friends and family. Luck also has a tendency to favor number Threes.

Popularity

OF THE BOY NAME LAWSON

Lawson dates back to at least the late 19th century in America and persisted through the early part of the 20th century. By the 1930s it became clear that Lawson was fading from the charts and finally dropped off altogether in 1949. Lawson’s hiatus from the charts would last 50 consecutive years, until the name finally reemerged in the year 2000. Obviously, Lawson’s reappearance on the charts follows the popular trend of using surnames as forenames (a tradition long held in the South). In fact, there are several patronymic surnames in frequent usage today, the most popular being Jackson (son of Jack/John) and Harrison (son of Harry/Henry). There is also Jameson (son of James), Anderson (son of Anders/Andrew), Dawson (son of David), Nelson (son of Neil), Wilson (son of William) and Jefferson (son of Jeffrey). Lawson is just another example of this popular “son of” surname trend. In this case, Lawson might be a good choice for the son of a father named Laurence or the son of an attorney or sheriff (i.e., “lawmen”). Today Lawson isn’t one of the more popular surnames-turned-first names like Mason and Jackson, but it has managed to climb almost half-way up the charts – meaning Lawson is given to around 400 baby boys per year. Not much, but enough to give him a place on the charts.

Quick Facts

ON LAWSON

GENDER:

Boy

ORIGIN:

English

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

2

RANKING POPULARITY:

511

PRONUNCIATION:

LAW-sәn

SIMPLE MEANING:

Son of Laurence

Characteristics

OF LAWSON

Communicative

Creative

Optimistic

Popular

Social

Dramatic

Happy

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Lawson

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME LAWSON

We cannot find any significant literary characters by the name of Lawson

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME LAWSON

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Lawson


Popular Songs

ON LAWSON

We cannot find any popular or well-known songs with the name of Lawson


Famous People

NAMED LAWSON

Lawson Little (golfer)
Lawson Duncan (Tennis player)

Children of Famous People

NAMED LAWSON

We cannot find any children of famous people with the first name Lawson

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME LAWSON

We cannot find any historically significant people with the first name Lawson