Given name

Ludger

“men, people”

Ludger is a masculine given name from Old Saxon, ultimately from Latin. It is used in German.

Meaning & origin

What it means

Ludger goes back to Proto-West Germanic *liudi, meaning “men, people.”

Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Where it comes from

Ludger is a form of Luitger. An origin associated with Luitger is Germanic.

Explained through its name family

How it developed

From Old Saxon Liudigēr, from Proto-West Germanic *liudi (“men, people”), from Latin Ludgerus.

Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1912. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Ludger through the years

Babies since 1880
179
179 boys · 0 girls
Most popular year
1926
14 babies
2025
0
Outside the ranked list
2021–25 vs 2016–20
—
Too few births to compare
0102030192019401960198020002025Highest share 19120.0
Ludger in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1912–2025, per million boys born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

By the numbers

The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 7 in 1950. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 14 in 1926. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 168 as a first name in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Ludger’s family of names

In German usage, Ludger has a diminutive in Lutz. Ludger is a form of Luitger. In German usage, Ludger has a related form in Luitger.

Walk Ludger’s family in the name graph

LudgerLutzLuitgerLeodegarioLüder

Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Nicknames & forms 2

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

Across languages 2

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

Similar names

If you love Ludger, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

German · Vintage revival

Luther

“a soldier of the people”

42UncommonSteady

>99% boys

Old-fashioned

Lucious

“surrounded by light”

25RareEasing

>99% boys

French · Old-fashioned

Laurent

“a graceful woman”

20RareRising fast

90% boys · 10% girls

Old-fashioned

Lavern

Lavern is a unisex given name.

25RareRising

>99% boys

English · Old-fashioned

Lester

“roman fort” · “a man from Leicester”

40UncommonSteady

>99% boys

Old-fashioned

Leeroy

Leeroy is a masculine given name.

27RareRising

>99% boys

English · Old-fashioned

Sumner

“a legal official; one who serves summons”

24RareRising

82% boys · 18% girls

English · Old-fashioned

Garner

“one who gathers or keeps grain”

22RareSteady

83% boys · 17% girls

Sibling ideas

Names that share Ludger’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Ludger

A sister for Ludger