Given name & surname
Lu
“a famous warrior”
Lu is a variant of Louise. In German use, Louise carries the interpretation “a famous warrior.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Lu is a variant of Louise. In German use, Louise carries the interpretation “a famous warrior.”
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English usage, Lu is a diminutive of Lucy.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1886. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Lu through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 4,081
- 35 boys · 4,046 girls
- Most popular year
- 1954
- 394 babies
- 2025
- 7
- #12,652 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +18%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 7 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 12,652 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for girls was 394 in 1954. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,744 as a first name in 2020; 46,937 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.
Lu’s family of names
In English usage, Lu is a diminutive of Lucy. In Filipino usage, Lu as a surname shares an earlier linguistic root with Lou. Lu has a related form in Louise.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Lucyfull form · English
- Lucillefull form · English
- Louisevariant
- Louvariant · Tagalog
- Lewvariant · Tagalog
- Duvariant · Tagalog
- Loovariant · English, Tagalog
- Lüvariant · English
Show 1 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 9
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Show 1 moreShow fewer
People named Lu
- Cao LuChinese singerborn 1987
- Xu LuChinese actressborn 1994
- Huang LuChinese actressborn 1983
- Liu LuChinese badminton playerborn 1977
- Lulu XuanChinese actressborn 1991
- Lu LuChinese badminton playerborn 1990
- Lu ChenChinese American neuroscientistborn 1972
- Lu MärtenGerman art historian (1879–1970)
- Zhang LuChinese footballer born 23 August 1987
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Lu, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Lin
“resembling jade; from the woodland”
29% boys · 71% girls
Su
Su is a surname from Mandarin. It is used in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, and 1 other language.
11% boys · 89% girls
Lei
“adorned with flowers” · “resembling thunder”
>99% girls
Wan
“one who is gentle and gracious”
33% boys · 67% girls
Tami
Tami is a feminine given name from Japanese.
>99% girls
Soon
Soon is a surname from Chinese. It is used in English and Tagalog.
10% boys · 90% girls
Lưu
Lưu is a surname from Chinese. It is used in Vietnamese.
—
Kim
“as precious as gold”
17% boys · 83% girls