Louie
Louie was the 596th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 481 babies. Its best year was 1901, when it ranked 230th; the most babies were born in 2024 (500). Over the last ten years it has moved up 367 places. More babies were named Louie in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning pet form of Louis or Louise · English, French, Germanic
Say it LOO-ee /ˈlui/
- Rank in 2025
- #596 boys, up 171 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 481boys
- Girls and boys
- 5% girls, 95% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2024500 babies
- Total since 1880
- 33,338babies recorded
What does the name Louie mean?
Louie is a pet form of Louis, Louise or Louisa, made by adding -ie. DMNES explains Louis as a Germanic name of hlūd, loud or famous, and wīg, battle, the same name as Frankish Clovis. Louis was the name of many French kings, which DMNES lists. Wiktionary also records Louie as a Chinese-American surname from Cantonese, which is unrelated. Louie has been used in the US since 1880.
*hlūdaz (Proto-Germanic, “loud, famous”)*wīgą (Proto-Germanic, “battle”)
How sure is this? Probable.
Related names: Louis, Lou, Louise, Luigi, Lewis.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean warrior, names that mean fame.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Louie' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Louis', DMNES (Durham University)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Louie popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #4,135 | #596 | 35 | 481 |
| 2020 | #7,094 | #767 | 16 | 314 |
| 2010 | — | #1,354 | — | 126 |
| 2000 | — | #1,231 | — | 109 |
| 1990 | — | #847 | — | 146 |
| 1980 | #11,378 | #723 | 5 | 147 |
| 1970 | #8,754 | #562 | 5 | 208 |
| 1960 | #3,162 | #446 | 16 | 328 |
| 1950 | #2,394 | #352 | 18 | 366 |
| 1940 | #1,822 | #306 | 20 | 334 |
| 1930 | #1,489 | #286 | 28 | 393 |
| 1920 | #1,164 | #268 | 43 | 421 |
| 1910 | #805 | #248 | 29 | 95 |
| 1900 | #818 | #264 | 21 | 61 |
| 1890 | #456 | #276 | 33 | 39 |
| 1880 | #459 | #287 | 14 | 33 |
How popular is Louie, counting every spelling?
Louie is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #578 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #596 for Louie on its own. Together these spellings went to 501 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louie | 481 | #596 | 2,188 |
| Lewi | 12 | #7,040 | 58 |
| Loui | 8 | #9,389 | 57 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Louie?
481 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Louie (0.13 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Louie born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 17 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Louie.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Louie?
About 15,500 people born in the US named Louie are alive today, with a median age of 47; half are between 13 and 68. That makes Louie mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Louie by state
How common Louie was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Minnesota (5.1×), Utah (3.0×), Nebraska (2.7×), Wisconsin (2.0×), Iowa (1.9×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Alabama, South Carolina, Maryland.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Louie: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Louie, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Louie · Sibling names for Louie
Louie is also a nickname for Lewis, Louis and Louise.
Questions about the name Louie
What does Louie mean?
Louie means “pet form of Louis or Louise” (English, French, Germanic origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Louie?
Louie was the 596th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 481 babies. Its best year was 1901, when it ranked 230th; the most babies were born in 2024 (500). Over the last ten years it has moved up 367 places. More babies were named Louie in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Louie a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 5% girls, 95% boys given the name Louie in the US.
Where is Louie most popular?
In 2021–2025, Louie was most common in Minnesota (1.29 per 1,000 boys), followed by North Dakota and Utah.