Wawrzyniec
The name comes from Latin, tied to laurentum and the laurel wreath: a victor's name, a laureate's. Fewer than 1,400 Polish men carry it, so meeting one tends to stick with you.
Wawrzyniec Pronunciation
Wawrzyniec is pronounced vahv-ZHIH-nyets (/vavˈʐɨɲɛt͡s/).
What Wawrzyniec means
Where Wawrzyniec comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Wawrzyniec begins in Latin, from Laurentius, meaning a man of Laurentum. That old town near Rome shares its root with laurus, the laurel, and the laurel is what crowned the winners of games and battles. So the name still sits close to its Polish gloss, zwycięzca and laureat, the victor and the prize-winner.
The most famous bearer is Saint Lawrence, Wawrzyniec in Polish, a Roman deacon martyred in 258. His feast day falls on 10 August, and that is when Poles named Wawrzyniec mark their imieniny. Tradition made him the patron of cooks and librarians.
The diminutive wawrzyn does double duty. It is the pet form of the name and also the ordinary Polish word for a laurel wreath. The variant Laurenty stays nearer the Latin sound. Read a class register in an older parish and you may find the boy listed plainly, Wawrzyniec: victor by his meaning, laurel by his root.
How many people are named Wawrzyniec
1 in 15824 men in Poland is named Wawrzyniec. 1,349 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #838 among male names.
Wawrzyniec's popularity over time
7 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #840 among newborns. It has been falling steadily since 2000. Still the #838 name among living men, even as it slips to #840 among newborns.
Where Wawrzyniec is most popular
Wawrzyniec is most popular in Lesser Poland, 217% above the national average (8 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Masovian (+205%) and Lublin (+75%).
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Lesser Poland8 boys born+217%
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Masovian12 boys born+205%
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Lublin2 boys born+75%
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Pomeranian2 boys born+22%
Wawrzyniec as a middle name
Wawrzyniec is a first name for 1,349 men in Poland and a middle name for another 4,829, a 22/78 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 131st, between Alexander (4,874) and Tymoteusz (4,716).
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129
5,041Lesław
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130
4,874Alexander
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1314,829Wawrzyniec
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132
4,716Tymoteusz
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133
3,992David
When Wawrzyniec celebrates name day
Wawrzyniec appears 4 times in the Polish name day calendar. The main date is 8 January.