Louisa
Louisa was the 697th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 407 babies. Its best year was 1881, when it ranked 119th; the most babies were born in 2021 (424). Over the last ten years it has moved up 210 places. More babies were named Louisa in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning famous warrior (Latinized feminine of Louis) · Germanic, Latin
Say it loo-EE-zuh /luˈizə/
- Rank in 2025
- #697 girls, up 28 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 407girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2021424 babies
- Total since 1880
- 21,937babies recorded
What does the name Louisa mean?
Louisa is a Latinized form of Louise, the feminine of Louis, which Wiktionary says has been used in English since the 18th century. DMNES gives it as the feminine of Louis and notes earlier English examples, from the 1560s and 1640s, while adding that it was never very common. Louis comes from Germanic hlūd, famous, and wīg, battle. Louisa has been used in the US since 1880.
*hlūdaz (Proto-Germanic, “loud, famous”)*wīgą (Proto-Germanic, “battle”)
How sure is this? Probable.
Related names: Louise, Louis, Luisa, Lou, Lulu.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean warrior, names that mean fame.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Louisa', DMNES (Durham University)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Louis', DMNES (Durham University)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Louisa' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Nicknames for Louisa
The usual nicknames for Louisa are Lou and Lulu. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Louisa in the last five years, 17 were named Lou, against 9 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lou · also for Lewis, Elouise, Eloise | Traditional | #2,674 | 321 |
| Lulu · also for Luna, Louise, Luella | Traditional | #3,194 | 286 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Louisas go by each one.
Louisa popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 5 since 1922.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #697 | 407 |
| 2020 | #725 | 383 |
| 2010 | #1,411 | 163 |
| 2000 | #1,914 | 89 |
| 1990 | #1,462 | 107 |
| 1980 | #1,171 | 115 |
| 1970 | #1,015 | 123 |
| 1960 | #846 | 151 |
| 1950 | #730 | 138 |
| 1940 | #605 | 134 |
| 1930 | #532 | 164 |
| 1920 | #500 | 192 |
| 1910 | #434 | 84 |
| 1900 | #271 | 144 |
| 1890 | #180 | 168 |
| 1880 | #130 | 126 |
How popular is Louisa, counting every spelling?
Louisa is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #454 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #697 for Louisa on its own. Together these spellings went to 701 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisa | 407 | #697 | 1,902 |
| Luisa | 294 | #903 | 1,464 |
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 Louisa?
407 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Louisa (0.11 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Louisa 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 21 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Louisa.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Louisa?
About 12,700 people born in the US named Louisa are alive today, with a median age of 27; half are between 9 and 58. That makes Louisa mostly worn by children and young adults. 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.
Louisa by state
How common Louisa was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Massachusetts (3.2×), Minnesota (2.9×), Oregon (2.6×), Colorado (2.3×), Utah (2.3×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Oklahoma, Florida, Iowa.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Louisa: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Louisa, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Louisa
What does Louisa mean?
Louisa means “famous warrior (Latinized feminine of Louis)” (Germanic, Latin origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Louisa?
Louisa was the 697th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 407 babies. Its best year was 1881, when it ranked 119th; the most babies were born in 2021 (424). Over the last ten years it has moved up 210 places. More babies were named Louisa in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Louisa a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Louisa in the US.
Where is Louisa most popular?
In 2021–2025, Louisa was most common in District of Columbia (1.27 per 1,000 girls), followed by Alaska and Massachusetts.