Lars Ulrich of Metallica; Image via Wikipedia
Laurence wears a bowtie, but this Scandinavian variant is pure heavy metal.
Thanks to Kristin for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day: Lars.
I’m quite fond of the story of Saint Laurence. The name probably started out as a reference to Laurentum, an ancient city pre-dating Rome. The city likely took its name from the laurel. Laurence and company have been common for centuries. In the 200s Saint Laurence was martyred after being ordered to round up the riches of his church and hand ’em over. Laurence gathered the poor and presented them as the true wealth of his faith. Legend has it that he was roasted alive.
Despite this gutsy and grisly tale, Laurence feels like an academic today – an English professor, or maybe a banker or a graphic designer. Larry – a short form that was a Top 20 pick from 1937 through 1955 – is your grandpa, or maybe your neighbor who can fix anything, the one whose kids are all in high school or out of the home.
As for medieval diminutive Larkin? He could be spotted on a boy, but Lark is almost certainly a new baby girl.
Then there’s Lars. He has a long history of use in Scandinavia, where he’s not a nickname – he’s just the Swedish and Norwegian and Danish form of Laurence. He’s also heard in Dutch, and popular in Belgium and Germany.
Like the white-hot Axel, this import has a certain heavy metal undercurrent.
- Guitar legend Yngwie Malmsteen’s given name was Lars.
- Rancid’s Lars Frederiksen was born in California, but his mom was born in Denmark.
- Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich truly puts the heavy metal umlaut in Lars. The Danish-born drummer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has had a successful career since the early 1980s. Metallica has racked up nine Grammy awards – and I have to add this: they’ve just collaborated on a new album with Lou Reed called Lulu.
In 2007, quirky little indie flick Lars and the Real Girl made waves. Danish film director Lars von Trier has been sparking controversy and winning accolades since his career took off in the late 1980s. Von Trier’s latest film, Melancholia, helped Kirsten Dunst nab a best actress award at Cannes.
All of this lends Lars some serious edge. But in the US, his sound is slightly out of step with current trends. In fact, Lars did appear in the Top 1000 steadily from 1958 through 1976, and a few times before and since. His last appearance was 1984.
Overall, this makes Lars a heritage choice with a certain offbeat vibe. His sound is masculine, but not nearly as aggressive as Slade or Cannon. Thanks to his saintly origins, Lars has a certain evergreen quality that makes him a good choice for parents who want unusual something that screams tough guy while still staying within the lexicon of established appellations.
Amanda says
July 31, 2012 at 9:38 AMI love the name Lars! So much in fact we named our first son Lars, born in 2010. My husband is of Dutch and Danish heritage although the name was picked as we both liked it many years before we got married and had our son. He suits the name very much and we have had a lot of comments on what a great name it is and how much they like it. I couldn’t picture him with any other name, but the hard part is now to come up with a sibling name (not sure yet if we are having a boy or girl) that is as unique (in Austalia) yet not too off beat…
julia says
July 10, 2012 at 12:14 PMour 3 yr old son is named lars, short for larsen. lars larsen is a name on my mother’s side. i think its an amazing name. we love his name, never have to worry about him being confused with another lars at school, for sure. and are searching for something just as interesting for our 2nd, due in october.
jvcounselor says
February 4, 2012 at 10:00 AMUpdate: We had a baby boy and while my husband favored Lars throughout my pregnancy, after watching me having a natural birth, he was in awe and would have named him anything I wanted I think!:) Actually, after meeting him and sleeping on it for a night, we both decided he was more of a Hugo. So little Hugo Kenneth it is.
I think Lars is a great choice if you have Scandinavian heritage (which we don’t) and want a unique name (it’s not in the top 1000 in the U.S).
appellationmountain says
February 4, 2012 at 12:47 PMCongrats on the birth of baby Hugo! Great name. 🙂
Panya says
January 19, 2012 at 4:37 AMI *want* to like Lars — though, while I am a huge fan of Metallica’s music, I generally dislike Lars Ulrich as a person. 🙁 He taints the name for me, which is sad because I’ve been in love with Loren/Lauren and Laurie for boys since I was in grade school. Larkin is nice too. Lawson is my aunt’s maiden name.
This also brings to mind tennis player Stanislas Wawrinka, the Swiss-born son of a German-born man of Czech ancestry, whose surname is a Polish form of Laurence. [Interesting tidbits: his sisters are Djana
Kristin says
December 26, 2011 at 12:32 PMThanks for profiling–I’m the one who wrote to you about this name.
Well, my husband and I are expecting our second baby (gender a surprise) any day now. My husband loves the name Lars while I prefer Hugo. I like what you wrote about Lars and it definitely makes me like the name more. I find the name sounds weird coming out of my mouth and I can’t get over that it rhymes with Mars. I wish there was a third name that we both love. I’m thinking this all might mean we are having another girl in which case her name is settled:)
Sarah A says
December 25, 2011 at 3:34 PMFunny, the only [email protected] I know is my husband’s 14 year old nephew and he does not wear a bowtie, haha! I know he was named for his grandfather, and his 12 year old sister has a much more modern sounding and trendy name ([email protected]).
I really do like Laurence but I absolutely love Lars. It’s too bad we don’t have any Nordic heritage, I would love to have a little Lars and a little Ingrid. I do think though, that if paired with a non Scandinavian sibling name that Lars really isn’t too out there. In fact, I would love to see brothers named Lars and Conan 🙂
Charlotte Vera says
December 21, 2011 at 11:43 PMLars is my father’s middle name. I’ve heard him comment in the past about how his middle name seems out of place amongst the rest of his family’s more traditional German-Canadian-names-from-the-fifties (e.g. Harry, Peter, Charles, Betty, etc.). I’ve always liked Lars, but it’s a bit too short for me to consider as a first name.
One story my dad’s family likes to tell is of when someone once asked my dad what his middle name was. He responded with something like, “It rhymes with a planet and begins with the letter L.” The person then began guessing, “Lercury? Lupiter? Luranus?” If I remember the story correctly, they never did come up with Lars and had to be told the name.
Julie says
December 21, 2011 at 6:04 PMHere in Lake Wobegon, Lars is a pretty normal name. Not ever popular, but not ever completely gone either. It’s perfectly nice, but I’m not enamored with it — in fact I’d prefer Lasse, but I that would get twisted into Lassie. 🙁
As far as Scandinavian names go it’s pronunciation is accessible and with the popularity of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I imagine Norsk names in general will be rising in popularity. I wouldn’t be surprised to meet more children named Lars.
Laura Rose says
December 21, 2011 at 5:43 PMAs a Laura I couldn’t use Lawrence. Lars os a bit too harsh, but Larkin? Larkin’s one of my favourites. I didn’t know it was related to my own name. Now that has serious possibilities.
Kathryn Van Ryn says
December 21, 2011 at 1:54 PMMy son is a fourth generation Lawrence. I had my doubts and anxieties about it, but now I’m in love. He is such a sweet, old soul, and so incredibly smart and funny. The name suits him perfectly. My Father in law (and his late father) go by Larry, my husband grew up as Larry and now prefers Lawrence. Every once in awhile I’ll call our son Lorie..just slips out, but he’s our Lawrence!! Ps….he’s wearing a bow tie in his one year pictures 😉
appellationmountain says
December 21, 2011 at 5:08 PMLOVE it! We actually lived down the street from a little Lawrence a few years ago … he was fearless, constantly riding his tricycle at high speeds towards the hilly part of our street. As for Lorie? I used to call my son Aly and Alexei – but now he’s 7 and he’s Alex-thank-you-very-much. Still, I love Aly and Lorie and all of those softer nicknames for classic boys’ names.
Tayla says
December 21, 2011 at 1:40 PMI would probably use a different form of the name: Lorenz. It’s on my family tree, thanks to an immigrant from Czechoslovakia about 8 generations ago, and I like the sound and heft of it much better. And there’s that Z!
KatieB says
December 21, 2011 at 12:29 PMI think it is a great heritage choice as well, but not one I’d use. I prefer Laurence as a middle for a boy or even a girl. (Laurence is the feminine form of Laurent in france). I didn’t realize that Lark was related to Laurence! I always figured it was a nature name like Wren or Hawk. My grandfather and his father were both named Lark, now I can use Laurence to honor them.
liz says
December 21, 2011 at 11:41 AMWe know a Lars. His mom is Dutch, sibs are Lucas and Amy.
Nicole says
December 21, 2011 at 9:47 AMI think is such a cool dude name! Although it is a little out of my ethnicity and would sound weird on a brown baby, so I dont think we would use it.. but I would love to see it on the playground
SkyeRhyly says
December 21, 2011 at 9:43 AMI think it’s a really ugly name, sorry. Not my style whatsoever.
Rebekah says
December 21, 2011 at 8:41 AMI’m not going to use that name just because it is my brother-in-law’s name. Enough said.
Zeffy says
December 21, 2011 at 7:49 AM‘Laurence wears a bowtie’. Haha, the one I know does indeed wear a bowtie. Everyday. For that fact alone I would pick Lars over Laurence any day, but you’ve given even more reasons why Lars is a fantastic name.