Given name & surname
Lou
“a famous warrior”
In English use, Lou is a short form of Louise. In German use, Louise carries the interpretation “a famous warrior.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Lou is a short form of Louise. In German use, Louise carries the interpretation “a famous warrior.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In French use, Lou is a shortened form of Louis. An origin associated with Louis is Germanic.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English use, Lou is used as a shortened form of Louis.
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. In French use, Lou is a shortened form 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
Lou through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 38,198
- 4,089 boys · 34,109 girls
- Most popular year
- 1954
- 1,547 babies
- 2025
- 146
- #1,929 for boys · #2,674 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +69%
- Rising fast
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 53% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 81 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,929 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 67.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 65 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California and New York shared the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (7 each). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 16,909 as a first name in 2020; 3,619 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.
Lou’s family of names
In English usage, Lou is a diminutive of Louis. In Filipino usage, Lou as a surname shares an earlier linguistic root with Lu. In French usage, Lou is a shortened form of Louise.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Lou has relatives in 3 languages.
8 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Lou
- Lou Andreas-SaloméGerman-Russian essayist, philosopher, and psychoanalyst (1861–1937)
- Lou Henry HooverFirst Lady of the United States from 1929 to 19331874–1944
- Lou FerrignoAmerican actor and bodybuilderborn 1951
- Lou GehrigAmerican baseball player (1903–1941)
- Lou Diamond PhillipsAmerican actorborn 1962
- Lou CostelloAmerican actor and comedian (1906–1959)
- Lou RawlsAmerican singer (1933–2006)
- Lou WilliamsAmerican basketball player (born 1986)
- Lou JeanmonnotFrench biathleteborn 1998
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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If you love Lou, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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