Lois

Origin: Ancient Greek — Biblical name (Timothy's grandmother); Ancient Greek origin, obscure meaning

Girl's name · #1670 in the US (2025) · Vintage

Popularity over time

Lois is an heirloom: its strongest era came around 1929, when it ranked #17. It has thinned since but never left the records — about 333,000 girls since 1880, ranked #1670 today. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Lois is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 11 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Lois ranks in other countries and regions.

#35 in Netherlands (2025) · #247 in N. Ireland (2025) · #252 in Scotland (2025) · #461 in England & Wales (2025) · #555 in France (2025) · #710 in Belgium (2025) · #815 in Ireland (2025) · #1,187 in Austria (2025) · #1,522 in Sweden (2025) · #1,624 in Switzerland (2025) · #1,774 in Ecuador (2025) · #1,263 in Canada (2024).

Famous Loises

Lois McMaster Bujold — American novelist (born 1949)
Lois Maxwell — Canadian actress (1927–2007)
Lois Lowry — American writer
Lois Weber — American actor/film director (1879–1939)
Lois Chiles — American actress and model (born 1947)

In stories & tradition

Lois Lane — Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (film)
Lois Griffin — Family Guy (TV series)
Lois — Biblical figure mentioned in Timothy

What Loises become

Among 507 notable people named Lois:

Artists & writers appear 1.55× more often than among typical names — e.g. Lois McMaster Bujold, American novelist (born 1949).

Similar names: Doris · Lori · Jean · Eris · Liz · Joann

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

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