Louis

Meaning: Famous in battle
Origin: French (from Frankish)

Nicknames: Lou, Louie

Boy's name · #249 in the US (2025) · Timeless

Popularity over time

Louis holds its lane: charted since 1880 and rarely far from where it stands today (#249 in 2025). About 406,000 boys have carried it along the way. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Louis is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 49 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

Louis is especially popular in France, Belgium, and Switzerland.

#5 in France (2025) · #7 in Belgium (2025) · #8 in Switzerland (2025) · #34 in New Zealand (2025) · #45 in Australia (VIC) (2025) · #49 in England & Wales (2025) · #55 in Australia (NSW) (2025) · #57 in Austria (2025) · #61 in Australia (QLD) (2025) · #72 in Netherlands (2025) · #83 in Scotland (2025) · #115 in Ireland (2025) and 7 more.

Famous Louises

Louis Pasteur — French chemist and microbiologist (1822–1895)
Louis XIV of France — King of France and of Navarre from 1643 to 1715 (1638–1715)
Louis Armstrong — American jazz musician, trumpeter and singer (1901–1971)
Louis XVI of France — King of France and Navarre from 1774 to 1791, then King of the French from 1791 to 1792 (1754–1793)
Louis XV of France — King of France and of Navarre from 1715 to 1774 (1710–1774)

In stories & tradition

Louis de Pointe du Lac — The Vampire Chronicles (Bible)
Louis Wu — Ringworld (book)
Louis Napoleon^it — Captain Tsubasa: World Youth Hen (manga)

What Louises become

Among 12,067 notable people named Louis:

Military figures appear 2.85× more often than among typical names — e.g. Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, British statesman and naval officer (1900–1979).

Spellings & nicknames

About 440 boys a year are given Louie as their full name and 72 Lou.

Similar names: Louie · Martin · Lonnie · Julius · Peter · Felix

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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