A while back I my husband and I grew to love the name [name_u]Loren[/name_u] for our future son. We still love the name and is one of our top two names. Recently doing genealogy on his side he found out his great uncles name is spelled [name_f]Lauren[/name_f]. [name_f]My[/name_f] husband now prefers this spelling. I actually really like it. It gives the nicknames [name_u]Laurie[/name_u] and [name_m]Lars[/name_m] which make me happy. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you see it too girly? Obviously there are a lot of gender neutral names going around. I grew up thinking [name_u]Ryan[/name_u] was a girl’s name because that was my cousins name, you have people naming their girls [name_u]James[/name_u] etc. I just have never seen any suggest [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] for a boy. It’s really growing on me though.
I don’t see it as too girly, but others might because it is a very popular name for girls and unheard of for boys. However, it’s very close to [name_u]Laurence[/name_u], and I think nn [name_u]Laurie[/name_u] is gaining favor. [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] could work, though [name_u]Loren[/name_u] or [name_u]Laurence[/name_u] might be received better in general. Or you could just be ahead of the curve! 
My grandpa on my mom’s side was named [name_u]Loren[/name_u] [name_u]Everett[/name_u], and he went by [name_u]Lee[/name_u].
Besides that, all the [name_m]Laurens[/name_m] I’ve ever met were girls. If I heard of a [name_f]Lauren[/name_f]/ read the name [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] on a class list, I would 100% assume the person was female.
I think it could work, but it might pose some challenges. I do love the nickname [name_m]Lars[/name_m].
That’s a good point!
I actually do agree that [name_u]Laurence[/name_u] may be a excellent alternative! You could still get the nicknames [name_u]Laurie[/name_u] and [name_m]Lars[/name_m], and you could even call him [name_f]Lauren[/name_f], but he would have [name_u]Laurence[/name_u] on paper as an option for himself.
I think [name_u]Laurence[/name_u] or [name_m]Laurens[/name_m] may be a better option than [name_f]Lauren[/name_f]. There have been threads on here about “why are boy names ok on girls but not girl names on boys?” To summarize, we’re just not on that level of equality yet. I think we’re getting there and the more “gender swapping” baby names that we use, the more we will become a society that rejects toxic masculinity (aka the ideology that boys should not have “girly” names for fear of being bullied).
Laurence is a great name but with our last name sounds bad and runs together in an unattractive way. Last name starts with SCH and one syllable. It’s actually axed a lot of name I love lol. [name_m]Laurens[/name_m] I like too but it would just sound like [name_f]Lauren[/name_f].
I’ve known an adult male named [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] my whole life, so it’s always been unisex to me. I think it works perfectly fine on a boy & I love nn [name_u]Laurie[/name_u]!
[name_m]Ah[/name_m] that’s a good point! [name_f]My[/name_f] last name starts with a K sound, so that eliminates all first names ending with the same sound, for me. It feels like it runs together 
I did a little search of La- boy names and found a few that may work:
[name_u]Laurin[/name_u]
Laurier
[name_m]Laurencio[/name_m]
[name_m]Laurentius[/name_m]
[name_m]Laurent[/name_m] (potentially my fav from this list)
[name_m]Lawson[/name_m]
[name_m]Lawton[/name_m]
I prefer the [name_u]Loren[/name_u] spelling but [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] works. I can see it as being quite masculine
I prefer the [name_m]Loran[/name_m] spelling or even [name_u]Loren[/name_u] but if you want to spell it [name_f]Lauren[/name_f], that’s fine, especially with the family connection! I don’t perceive it as “too girly”, I guess because I’ve only known two females named [name_f]Lauren[/name_f]. It’s a lovely name!
[name_f]My[/name_f] husband chose the middle names [name_m]Edwin[/name_m] [name_u]Oliver[/name_u] so the full name would be [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] [name_m]Edwin[/name_m] [name_u]Oliver[/name_u]. Yesterday we realized that the initials spell [name_m]Leo[/name_m]! A name he loved but I wasn’t keen on. And I get my Lars. I think well most likely stick with the family spelling with the variety of nicknames/middle names he could use if he grows up and chooses do so.
Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and feed back!
Larson is another idea I had, nn [name_m]Lars[/name_m].
I think while it definitely still is a “girls” name in 2020, it definitely can still work. It’s the name of his ancestor, there are plenty of nicknames, and many girls wear boys’ names all the time. I think if you really love it, use it.
Lawson. Please.
Definitely not! I think it as a boys name and not very girly.
I think he’d be constantly mistaken for a girl, then woman as an adult. If I received a work email from a [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] dot [name_m]Smith[/name_m], I’d assume it was from a woman. I’d go with [name_u]Laurence[/name_u], which is excellent - then you can use [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] at home if you like, or [name_m]Lars[/name_m].
I’ve never met a male [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] and I would be very surprised to. To me, it reads as feminine rather than unisex. Where I live, [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] was one of the most popular names for girls in the 1990s.
From Nameberry’s page on [name_f]Lauren[/name_f]: " [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] was derived from [name_u]Laurence[/name_u], an [name_f]English[/name_f] name from the [name_m]Roman[/name_m] family name [name_m]Laurentius[/name_m], meaning “from Laurentum.” Laurentum, an ancient Italian city, got its name from the Latin word laurus , meaning “bay laurel.” [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] was originally a masculine name but was embraced as a feminine name after [name_f]Betty[/name_f] [name_u]Joan[/name_u] Perske chose it for her stage name, [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] Bacall, in 1944."
This was originally a boy’s name. I can see it on a boy just like there are still male Lindsays and Shannons. [name_u]Meredith[/name_u] and [name_u]Vivian[/name_u] and [name_u]Marion[/name_u] were all boys’ names. And there’s [name_m]Sir[/name_m] [name_u]Kay[/name_u] in the [name_m]Arthur[/name_m] stories. I have no problem with the boys reclaiming it. I met a child named [name_m]Lorenzo[/name_m] whose parents called him [name_f]Lori[/name_f]. It makes total sense.
I would assume female if I saw it written down. So maybe his name could be [name_m]Lorenzo[/name_m], and you could call him [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] exclusively. Or, if you want to call him [name_m]Lars[/name_m], name him [name_m]Lars[/name_m]. The [name_u]Loren[/name_u] spelling looks more male these days.
I could see [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] working for a boy although I do prefer the [name_u]Loren[/name_u] spelling. I know 2 male [name_u]Lorin[/name_u]’s and 1 male [name_u]Loren[/name_u]. If I saw [name_f]Lauren[/name_f], I would assume girl. But if you want the nn [name_u]Laurie[/name_u] or [name_m]Lars[/name_m] I could see that being more intuitive with the [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] spelling.
We are going with [name_u]Lawrence[/name_u] if we have a boy next with the NN [name_m]Lawrie[/name_m]. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you like [name_u]Laurence[/name_u] and [name_u]Laurie[/name_u] or even [name_m]Laurent[/name_m]?