Louis

What Louis means

Means “loud; famous + battle”

From French Louis, from Middle French Loïs, Loïc, &c., from Old French Looïs, Luis, Lodhuvigs, Lodevis, Lodhwig, &c., from Latin Ludovicus, from Clodovicus, from Frankish *Hlūdawīg, from Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz (“loud; famous”) + *wīgą (“bat

Source: Wiktionary, “Louis” (revision 94541261), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Louis?

US: Rising: up from #296 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #78 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1908, when 1,317 boys got the name (#22 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 1,228 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 264 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 307 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in VT (4.95 per 1,000 boys), DC (3.17 per 1,000 boys), SD (2.86 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Louis is #249 in the US and #49 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.6% of US babies named Louis were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Luis2,475 US · 57 E&W
• Luiz28 US · 3 E&W
• Luiss0 US · 4 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Nicknames

• Louie
• Lou

Listed on Wiktionary under “pet forms”.

If you like Louis

Boys

• Lewis#433Same root as Louis, meaning “loud; famous + battle”^*
• Marcel#730Editor’s note Up from #771 in 2015 to #730 in 2025 in the US
• Bo#449Swedish, from Old Norse Búi, meaning “dweller, long-time resident”^*
• Harry#775Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1918, with 9,896 babies; 329 in 2025
• Augustine#545Same root as Austin, meaning “majestic”^*
• Noel#478French, meaning “birthday of the Lord”^*

For a sister

• Elisa#458Editor’s note Up from #489 in 2015 to #458 in 2025 in the US
• Margot#102Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #592 in 2015, #102 in 2025
• Jane#221“God is gracious”^*
• Colette#316Editor’s note Up from #525 in 2015 to #316 in 2025 in the US
• Rosalie#171“rose”^*
• Noelle#202Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #202 vs #705 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under French, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Louis’s. Rank is US 2025.