Lanice
A feminine name of French origin meaning "wool-comber".
Name Census estimates that about 319 living Americans carry the first name Lanice. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lanice today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lanice births was 1992 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lanice. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
319
~ 1 in 1,074,465 Americans
Peak year
1992
14 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2007 SSA rank
#19,229
Tracked since 1948
Popularity
Lanice: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lanice from the 1940s through to the 2000s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 86 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Lanice remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lanice by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Lanice during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lanice
The name Lanice is a feminine given name with roots in ancient Greek culture. It is derived from the Greek word "lanikios," which means "woolen" or "made of wool." The name likely originated in the early classical period of ancient Greece, around the 5th century BCE, when the textile industry and production of woolen garments thrived in regions like Athens and Corinth.
Lanice was a relatively uncommon name in ancient Greece, but it did appear in some historical records and literary works. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Plutarch, who mentioned a woman named Lanice in his work "Parallel Lives," written in the late 1st century CE.
In the Middle Ages, the name Lanice experienced a revival in parts of Europe, particularly in regions with strong cultural ties to the Byzantine Empire, where the Greek language and traditions were preserved. During this period, the name was sometimes spelled as "Lanike" or "Lanyce" in various European languages.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Lanice was Lanice of Normandy, a noblewoman who lived in the 11th century and was married to Robert de Grandcourt, a prominent Norman knight. Another notable figure was Lanice de Montfort, a 13th-century French noblewoman who was a member of the influential House of Montfort.
In the Renaissance period, the name Lanice gained some popularity among aristocratic families in Italy, where it was sometimes rendered as "Lanicia" or "Laniza." One notable bearer of the name during this time was Lanicia Strozzi, an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts who lived in the 15th century and was known for her support of artists and intellectuals.
In the 17th century, the name Lanice appeared in England, where it was occasionally used by families with classical or literary interests. One example is Lanice Bevan, an English poet and writer who lived from 1620 to 1685 and was known for her works on religion and philosophy.
Over the centuries, the name Lanice has remained relatively uncommon, but it has been carried by a few notable individuals throughout history. These include Lanice Branden, an American writer and psychologist who lived from 1930 to 2009 and was known for her work on self-esteem and personal development.
People
Lanice + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lanice as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lanice: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lanice?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 319 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lanice going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,074,465 US residents.
Is Lanice a common name?
We classify Lanice as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 358 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lanice most popular?
The single biggest year for Lanice was 1992, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lanice is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lanice a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lanice in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.