Fun Facts About the Name Lancelot
- 637 babies named Lancelot: U.S. records list 637 babies given the name Lancelot from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Lancelot Mean?
Lancelot is a name of Old French origin whose meaning is not securely established. It appears in Old French as Lancelot, formed with the diminutive suffix -ot, as seen in Charlot from Charles. The base is generally taken to be Lancel, a short form of a Germanic personal name, though the exact Germanic root is disputed.
The leading explanation traces Lancel to the Germanic element land, meaning "land" or "territory," which would give a literal sense along the lines of "little land" or "land man." A related view treats Lancel as a diminutive of a short Germanic name such as Lanzo. Some writers have proposed a Celtic source, and a widespread popular guess connects the name to the lance, the knight's weapon; that last idea reflects the character's armor in later stories rather than the word's actual history. Because these derivations compete and none is firmly settled, the safest statement is that the meaning is uncertain.
Lancelot Name History & Origins
The name is best known through Arthurian legend, where it belongs to one of the most prominent knights of King Arthur's court. It is borne by the hero of Chrétien de Troyes's Old French romance Lancelot, le Chevalier de la Charrette, written around 1177; this is among the earliest surviving appearances of the name as a major literary character.
A separate telling survives in the Middle High German Lanzelet of Ulrich von Zatzikhoven, composed around 1194, whose form Lanzelet shows the same name with a different ending; the poem states that it draws on a French ("welsch") source. In the 13th-century Old French prose cycles and later in Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur (1485), the character is developed as Arthur's greatest knight, the lover of Guinevere, and the father of Galahad.
The name circulated mainly through these romances rather than through royal or religious tradition. It has been used as a personal name since the medieval period, but it has always been uncommon and remains closely tied to the literary figure.
How Popular is the Name Lancelot?
Lancelot has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1984. Its best rank was #1,507 in 1908.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #7,034 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2024 | #10,452 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2023 | #8,634 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2022 | #11,695 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2021 | #13,266 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2020 | #13,252 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2019 | #11,574 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2018 | #11,578 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2017 | #11,590 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2016 | #7,916 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2015 | #7,346 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2014 | #13,227 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2013 | #10,283 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2012 | #8,580 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2011 | #8,491 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2010 | #6,237 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2009 | #9,519 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2008 | #8,052 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2007 | #7,398 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 2006 | #5,442 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2005 | #6,460 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2004 | #5,666 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2003 | #6,533 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2002 | #6,346 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2001 | #6,266 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2000 | #6,156 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1999 | #5,208 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1998 | #5,682 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1997 | #6,403 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1996 | #5,390 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1995 | #3,977 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1994 | #7,428 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1993 | #5,219 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1992 | #3,854 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1991 | #6,274 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1990 | #4,561 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1989 | #4,178 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1988 | #4,627 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1987 | #3,876 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1986 | #7,348 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1985 | #4,541 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1984 | #2,660 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1983 | #3,766 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1982 | #3,605 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1981 | #3,526 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1980 | #4,759 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1977 | #6,403 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1976 | #5,316 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1975 | #3,806 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1974 | #4,425 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1973 | #4,842 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1972 | #2,925 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1971 | #4,191 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1968 | #3,533 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1967 | #3,789 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1965 | #3,126 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1964 | #3,850 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1963 | #4,368 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1961 | #4,390 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1958 | #4,255 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1957 | #3,790 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1955 | #3,711 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1954 | #3,648 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1949 | #3,989 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1947 | #3,568 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1942 | #3,842 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1931 | #3,596 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1924 | #4,695 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1921 | #4,682 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1920 | #4,058 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1919 | #4,505 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1916 | #3,702 | 6 | 0.0007% |
| 1915 | #4,125 | 5 | 0.0006% |
| 1908 | #1,507 | 5 | 0.0032% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Lancelot Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You always bring to completion anything you start. You are generous but like to see returns from your giving. You have an executive ability, you are a leader. You are moral, balanced, honest and intellectual, and you may attain spirituality. You are wise and practical with an appreciation of beauty. You always think before you act. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Lancelot's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Lancelot's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.