Given name & surname
Ludwig
“loud; famous”
Ludwig is a masculine given name from German. It is used in English, German, and Swedish.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Ludwig goes back to Old High German Ludewig, 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
Its Germanic formation brings together hlud (“fame”) and wīg (“warrior”).
The story
The name has historical associations with royal or imperial families.
Ludwig through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,696
- 2,696 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1916
- 88 babies
- 2025
- 12
- #7,044 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +61%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 12 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 7,044 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 88 in 1916. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,572 as a first name in 2020; 21,232 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.
Ludwig’s family of names
Ludwig has an affectionate form in Lutz. In German usage, Ludwig shares a linguistic root with the Spanish form Luis. Ludwig has a related form in Louis.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Ludwig has relatives in 25 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Germanic roots to each of them.
62 related names in 25 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 35
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Louisvariant · German, French
- Luzvariant · German
- Luckishort form · bar
- Lutzdiminutive · German
- Ludvigvariant · Swedish
- Ludowigvariant · German
- Luddediminutive · Swedish
- Ludewigvariant · English, German
Show 27 moreShow fewer
- Chlodwigvariant · English, German
- Lutzevariant · German
- Lützvariant · German
- Ludwigsenvariant · German
- Ludwigsvariant · German
- Ludwigervariant · German
- Lüdtkevariant · German
- Ludovicivariant · German
- Ludlvariant · German
- Lüdkevariant · German
- Lüdickevariant · German
- Ludewigtvariant · German
- Ludewigsvariant · German
- Lüdemannvariant · German
- Lüdeckevariant · German
- Lüdevariant · German
- Lüddeckevariant · German
- Lüddevariant · German
- Lückevariant · German
- Lückvariant · German
- Lotzevariant · German
- Lotzvariant · German
- Ledwigvariant · German
- Ladwigvariant · German
- Ladewigvariant · German
- Wiggerldiminutive · German
- Lidldiminutive · German
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 35
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Luiscognate · Spanish
- Lewiscognate · English
- Loiscognate · Galician
- Luigicognate · Italian, English
- Cloviscognate · French, English
- Ludovicocognate · Portuguese, Spanish
- Ludwikcognate · Polish
- Ludovicsee also · French
Show 27 moreShow fewer
- Lottderivative · English
- Ludvikcognate
- Loeizequivalent
- Clóvisequivalent
- Ludovicusequivalent
- Loïckequivalent
- Lewysequivalent
- Ljudevitequivalent
- Ludvigsequivalent
- Clodoveoequivalent
- ЛюдвигRussian
- ლუდვიგიderivative · Georgian
- Luíscognate · Portuguese
- Lodewijkcognate · Dutch
- Luicicognate · Sicilian
- Ludvíkderivative · Faroese, Czech
- LodewykAfrikaans
- LoísOccitan
- LluísCatalan
- LúðvíkIcelandic
- Loudcognate · English
- Lautcognate · German
- Lajoscognate · Hungarian
- ĽudovítSlovak
- ЛюдовикRussian
- LodovicoItalian
- LoïcBreton
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Ludwig
- Ludwig van BeethovenGerman composer (1770-1827)
- Ludwig WittgensteinAustrian philosopher and logician (1889–1951)
- Albert SchweitzerFrench-German physician, theologian, musician, and philosopher (1875-1965)
- Ludwig FeuerbachGerman philosopher and anthropologist (1804–1872)
- Ludwig ErhardChancellor of West Germany (1963–1966)1897–1977
- Ludwig BoltzmannAustrian physicist and philosopher (1844–1906)
- Ludwig Mies van der RoheGerman architect (1886–1969)
- Ludwig von MisesAustrian-American economist (1881–1973)
- Louis the GermanKing of East Francia from 843 to 876806–876
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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