Larry
A short form of Lawrence, ultimately from the Latin name Laurentius.
The #5,817 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 51,960 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Larry is best understood as a nickname or pet form of Lawrence, the medieval English name from Latin Laurentius. The older sources also note it as a surname formed from that personal name. In the deeper sense, Laurentius means “from Laurentum,” an ancient Roman place name.
History
19th-century surname dictionaries consistently treat Larry as a derivative of Lawrence rather than an independent source name. Bardsley and Arthur both describe it as a nickname or abbreviation of Lawrence, and Lower lists it in the same family of surnames as Lawrie, Larkin, and Lawkin. As a surname it is comparatively uncommon and may have arisen independently in more than one family.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname writers also mention a place called Larry in Normandy, so not every bearer necessarily comes from the nickname route.
From the historical record
“of Lawrence. LARRY. 1. A nickname of Lawrence. 2, A place in the arrondissemeut of Alen- 9on in Normandy. LARWILL. Said to be a corruption of La Yille, which is probable — far more so than the tradition which states that the patri- arch of the family came over with the Conqueror. It is said that when the latter, in…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom