Lance

Spellings & scripts●(measured from records)

Locally spelled Lantz in IE Ireland.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records, and ○ marks a model's transliteration; click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●(measured from records)

Attested in 1 language in the etymology graph.

Other names spelled this way◐(inferred from the name graph)

Lance is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• a separate name2 spellings in the group

  Also written Lancé

• French given name5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Canada, United Kingdom

  Also written Lancé, Lãņçé, Läñçë

• Portuguese given name5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Brazil, Philippines, Portugal

  Also written Lançe, Lancé, Låñcë, Lânce

• Greek given name4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Greece, United States, United Kingdom, South Africa

  Also written Lans, Λανς, Lens

79 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●(measured from records)

Lance is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, from OG Lanzo, a hypocoristic of names in Land-; first attested Lance Bliaut 1185 NthCh

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• In English, from the Germanic personal name Lanzo, originally a short form of various compound names with the first element land ‘land’, ‘territory’ (for example, Lambert), but later used as an independent name. It was introduced to England by the Normans, for whom it was a popular name among the ruling classes, perhaps partly because of association with Old French lance ‘lance’, ‘spear’ (see 2).

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In English, metonymic name for a soldier who carried a lance, or a nickname for a skilled fighter, from Old French lance.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In English, A weapon of war, consisting of a long shaft or handle and a steel blade or head; a spear carried by horsemen.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, A lance bearer; see Lancelot

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Notable people with this name●(measured from records)

• Lance Henriksenb. 1940USAmerican actor
• Lance E. Nicholsb. 1955USAmerican actor
• Lance Reddickb. 1962USAmerican actor (1962–2023)
• Lance Acordb. 1964USAmerican cinematographer
• Dimebag Darrellb. 1966USnot in their usual nameAmerican guitarist (1966–2004)
• Lance Stormb. 1969CACanadian professional wrestler
• Lance Armstrongb. 1971UScyclist from the United States
• Lance Barberb. 1973USAmerican actor
• Lance Bassb. 1979USAmerican singer, dancer, actor, and film and television producer
• Lance Strollb. 1998CACanadian and Belgian racing driver

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

How to address them○(machine-generated)

A formal English salutation is built on the surname, so it needs a full name — on its own, a first name only supports the informal form.

Evidence●(measured from records)

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

Frequently asked questions

What does the name Lance mean, and where does it come from?

From the medieval personal name Lanzo, brought into England by the Normans, ultimately of Germanic origin, a shortened form of compound names beginning with a similar element. Recorded by Encyclopedia of surnames [the complete companion to tracing your names history].

Is Lance a male or female name?

Lance is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

How do you pronounce Lance?

A machine transcription gives /læns/ (IPA) for English.

What are other forms of the name Lance?

In the etymology graph, Lanny is a recorded short or pet form.

How common is the name Lance?

In the United States, the national register counted 86,540 people named Lance in 2020, about 1 in 3.8 thousand residents.

How common is Lance compared with other names?

In the United States, Lance is the 481st most common given name of 2,815,431 given names recorded there.

In which country does Lance have the most bearers?

In the United States, the national register counted about 87 thousand people named Lance, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled lance.