Given name & surname · also Germanic
Louis
“loud; famous”
Louis is a unisex given name from French, ultimately from Proto-Germanic. It is used in English, French, German, Dutch, and 1 other language.
Original GermanLudwig
Meaning & origin
What it means
Louis goes back to Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz, meaning “loud; famous.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Germanic.
How it developed
In English usage, Louis developed from the Latin form Ludovicus.
The story
The name has a history of use among French royal or aristocratic families.
Louis through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 409,317
- 406,470 boys · 2,847 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 7,296 babies
- 2025
- 1,397
- #249 for boys · #14,230 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +8%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,391 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 249 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 7.4% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 7,247 in 1921. It also appeared in 6 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (145). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 183,365 as a first name in 2020; 26,229 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.
Louis’s family of names
In English usage, Louis has a diminutive in Lou. In English usage, Louis shares a linguistic root with the Spanish form Luis. In English usage, Louis has a related form in Lewis.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Louis has relatives in 63 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Germanic roots to each of them.
94 related names in 63 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 29
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Ludwigvariant · German, English
- Luisvariant · Spanish, English
- Lewisvariant · English
- Louiediminutive · English
- Loudiminutive · English, French
- Luigivariant · Italian, Portuguese
- Luizvariant · Portuguese
- Lewivariant
Show 21 moreShow fewer
- Lewvariant · English
- Louloudiminutive · French
- Ludwikvariant · Polish
- Lewievariant
- Ludvikvariant · Czech
- Ludvigvariant · Swedish, Norwegian
- Ludovicvariant · French, Romanian
- Louisslikely variant
- Louisotindiminutive · nrf
- Louisotdiminutive · nrf, normand
- Loïsvariant · French, Occitan
- Loïcvariant · French
- Luduvicovariant
- Ludwegvariant
- Lewyvariant
- Ludovicusvariant · Latin
- Luchovariant
- Lodovicovariant
- Lodewickvariant
- Lewesvariant
- Lodewijkvariant · Dutch
Spellings & scripts 8
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 84
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- AlwisGerman
- Louisefeminine form · French, English
- Louisafeminine form
- Loveequivalent
- GinoItalian
- Loiscognate · Galician, Middle French
- Clovisdoublet · English
- Aloysiusdoublet · English, Latin
Show 52 moreShow fewer
- Luiborrowing · Hawaiian, gsw
- LudovicoPortuguese, Italian
- LuiginoItalian
- LisiSicilian
- Loizosequivalent
- Lewysequivalent
- Chlodwigequivalent
- Alviseequivalent
- Λοΐζοςequivalent
- Clodoveoequivalent
- Jijoequivalent
- Loeisequivalent
- Louison“son of” surname · English
- Λουίζαfeminine form · Greek
- Luíscognate · Portuguese
- Louwiscognate · Walloon
- Luicicognate · Sicilian
- Aloyzasderivative · Lithuanian
- LoísOccitan
- LluísCatalan
- LudvíkCzech, Faroese
- Laoiseachoriginal
- Lughaidhoriginal · Irish
- Lluisrelated form · Asturian
- Clóvisequivalent
- Loïckequivalent
- ĽudovítSlovak
- ЛюдвигRussian
- LiudvikasLithuanian
- LudvigsLatvian
- ルイJapanese
- LoðvíkIcelandic
- Lajossee also · Hungarian
- ΛουδοβίκοςGreek
- Lóitaudgallo
- Leóizgallo
- Loyèfrp
- LooysOld French
- LudovikoEsperanto
- LjudevitCroatian
- 루이Korean
- 路易斯Chinese, Mandarin
- LoeizBreton
- LoïkBreton
- Luygsw-fr, Vietnamese
- LuigjAlbanian
- LujCroatian
- Sen Lwi dinoHaitian Creole
- Лу́їсUkrainian
- Людо́викUkrainian, Russian
- Луї́Ukrainian
- หลุยส์Thai
And 24 more.
See also 3
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Louis
- Louis PasteurFrench chemist and microbiologist (1822-1895)
- Louis XIVKing of France and Navarre from 1643 to 1715 (1638-1715)
- Louis ArmstrongAmerican jazz musician, trumpeter and singer (1901–1971)
- Louis XVIKing of France and Navarre from 1774 to 1791, then King of the French from 1791 to 1792 (1754-1793)
- Albert SchweitzerFrench-German physician, theologian, musician, and philosopher (1875-1965)
- Alphonse DaudetFrench novelist, playwright, and poet (1840–1897)
- Louis XVKing of France and Navarre 1715 to 1774 (1710–1774)
- Alfred de MussetFrench writer (1810–1857)
- Louis de BroglieNobel laureate credited to pioneer the discovery of wave character of matter (1892–1987)
Characters named Louis: Louis de Pointe du Lac (fictional character created by Anne Rice).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Louis, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Albert
“one who is noble and bright”
>99% boys
Walter
“the commander of the army”
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Frank
“a man from France; one who is free”
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“having a bright mind”
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Charles
“charles the Great” · “one who is manly and strong”
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Otis
“a wealthy man” · “one who is acute”
>99% boys
William
“will” · “desire”
>99% boys
Luther
“a soldier of the people”
>99% boys