[Opinions] Re: Renzo / Rence
in reply to a message by Felie
As a Dutchwoman, Rence feels like an anglicisation of Rens to me, which is interesting. That said, perhaps Rence never became a popular short form of Laurence, Lawrence and Terence because of its heavy similarity to pence, the plural of penny (the subunit of the pound sterling and Irish pound). And perhaps also to other English words, such as fence, hence and thence. People might then have thought that Larry and Laurie were better alternatives, because those are less easily associated with ordinary words.
"It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society." ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986)