Given name & surname · also Slavic, German
Lew
“lion”
Lew is connected with Lev and LEwIs in English naming traditions.
Original GermanLeo
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with German, Slavic, and English naming traditions.
How it developed
In English use, Lew is used as a spelling variant of Lev. In English use, Lew is used as a shortened form of LEwIs.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Lew is a variant of Louis. The history of Louis gives this family its wider story. Louis has a history of use among French royal or aristocratic families.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Lew through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,208
- 2,193 boys · 15 girls
- Most popular year
- 1957
- 59 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #13,142 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 13,142 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 55 in 1959. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,401 as a first name in 2020; 7,305 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Lew’s family of names
In English usage, Lew is a diminutive of Lewis. In Polish usage, Lew shares an earlier linguistic root with Leon. Lew has a related form in Louis.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Lew has relatives in 8 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Slavic roots to each of them.
16 related names in 8 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Louisvariant · French
- Lewisfull form · English
- Luvariant · Tagalog
- Duvariant · Tagalog
- Liuvariant · Indonesian, Tagalog
- Lewevariant
- Leuvariant
- Lewekdiminutive · Polish
Show 1 moreShow fewer
Across languages 12
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- LeoGerman, English
- Leondoublet · Polish
- Levcognate
- Loudoublet · Tagalog
- Lowequivalent
- Laodoublet · Tagalog
- Lewyequivalent
- ЛевRussian
Show 4 moreShow fewer
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Lew
- Lew WallaceAmerican lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, territorial governor and statesman, politician, and author of 'Ben Hur' (1827-1905)
- Lew AyresAmerican actor (1908–1996)
- Lew HoadAustralian tennis player (1934–1994)
- Lew RockwellAmerican libertarian author, editor, and political consultantborn 1944
- Lew SapiehaPolish–Lithuanian noble (1557-1633)
- Lew TempleAmerican actorborn 1967
- Lew CodyAmerican actor (1884-1934)
- Lew SoloffAmerican musician (1944-2015)
- Lew BeckAmerican basketball player (1922–1970)
Characters named Lew: Lew Archer (fictional character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Lew, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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László is a masculine given name from Slavic. It is used in Hungarian.
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“the son of Roy”
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