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.
When Wawrzyniec celebrates name day
Wawrzyniec appears 15 times in the Polish name day calendar, 4 of them as a main name, the first on 8 January.
The days Polish calendars list this name on. By custom you celebrate one of them, usually the first after your birthday.
Rarer dates. Only the most complete calendars add this name on these days. Most skip them, so hardly anyone celebrates then.
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in 100 days2 FebruaryTuesday in 2027
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in 101 days3 FebruaryWednesday in 2027
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in 187 days30 AprilFriday in 2027
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in 221 days3 JuneThursday in 2027
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in 224 days6 JuneSunday in 2027
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in 269 days21 JulyWednesday in 2027
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in 295 days16 AugustMonday in 2027
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in 301 days22 AugustSunday in 2027
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in 335 days25 SeptemberSaturday in 2027
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in 337 days27 SeptemberMonday in 2027
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in 338 days28 SeptemberTuesday in 2027
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 parents choose Wawrzyniec
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 Poland
+217%1 in 28,365 babies
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Masovian
+205%1 in 29,522 babies
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Lublin
+75%1 in 51,338 babies
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Lesser Poland+217% 8 born1 in 28,365 babies+217%
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Masovian+205% 12 born1 in 29,522 babies+205%
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Lublin+75% 2 born1 in 51,338 babies+75%
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Pomeranian+22% 2 born1 in 73,661 babies+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 Lesław5,041
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#130 Alexander4,874
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#131 Wawrzyniec4,829
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#132 Tymoteusz4,716
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#133 David3,992