Lance

Did you know?

A few things about Lance you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Lance

Lance Henriksen

American actor

Choose Lance and your child shares a first name with Lance Henriksen, an American actor. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Lance, like who?” Lance Henriksen's Wikipedia article is available in 40 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Lance Henriksen on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Lance_Henriksen_2010.jpg: Saskia Batugowski from Ixelles derivative work: RanZag (talk), CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 6,124 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Lance, 279 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Lance would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryLance first shows up in US birth records in 1899, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 126 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1970, when it ranked #76. Today it's #862, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowLance was 3.8× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 1,608 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 6,124.
• 🍂TrendLance has slipped 98 places over the last five years and now sits at #862. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedLance is most popular in North Dakota, where it ranks #226, followed by Iowa (#399) and Louisiana (#450). It's in the top 1,000 in 20 states.
• 💬MeaningIn Germanic, Lance means “land”.

About the name Lance

Lance is a boy name meaning “land”. It has 5 letters and 1 syllable, starting with L and ending in “-nce”. US birth records list Lance for boys from 1899 to 2025, in 126 of those 127 years. Its best year was 1970, when it ranked #76 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #862, with 279 babies.