Louise
Louise was the 516th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 579 babies. Its best year was 1912, when it ranked 17th; the most babies were born in 1921 (9,180). Over the last ten years it has moved up 565 places. More babies were named Louise in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning famous in battle (feminine of Louis) · Germanic, French
Say it loo-EEZ /luˈiz/
- Rank in 2025
- #516 girls, up 165 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 579girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19219,180 babies
- Total since 1880
- 338,662babies recorded
What does the name Louise mean?
Louise is the French feminine of Louis. DMNES traces Louis to the Frankish name Chlodovech (Clovis), made of hlūd, loud or famous, and wīg, battle or war, so the name means roughly "famous warrior." Wiktionary gives the same chain through Latin Ludovicus. DMNES lists many Frankish and French kings named Louis. DMNES lists the Latinized feminine Louisa in England from the 1560s; Louise itself is the French form.
*hlūdaz (Proto-Germanic, “loud; famous”)*wīgą (Proto-Germanic, “battle”)
How sure is this? Probable.
Related names: Louisa, Louis, Lou, Luisa, Lois, Eloise.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean warrior, names that mean fame.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Louise' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Louis' (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)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Louisa', DMNES (Durham University)
Nicknames for Louise
The usual nicknames for Louise are Lou, Lulu and Louie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Louise in the last five years, 12 were named Lou, against 10 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lou · also for Lewis, Elouise, Eloise | Traditional | #2,674 | 321 |
| Lulu · also for Luna, Louisa, Luella | Traditional | #3,194 | 286 |
| Louie · also for Lewis, Louis | Modern | #4,135 | 116 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Louises go by each one.
Louise popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 2,196 since 1881.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #516 | 579 |
| 2020 | #681 | 417 |
| 2010 | #1,496 | 150 |
| 2000 | #1,582 | 112 |
| 1990 | #1,000 | 182 |
| 1980 | #717 | 234 |
| 1970 | #416 | 541 |
| 1960 | #199 | 1,786 |
| 1950 | #109 | 3,254 |
| 1940 | #59 | 3,928 |
| 1930 | #31 | 6,942 |
| 1920 | #19 | 9,179 |
| 1910 | #20 | 3,457 |
| 1900 | #35 | 2,070 |
| 1890 | #31 | 1,472 |
| 1880 | #37 | 635 |
How popular is Louise, counting every spelling?
Louise has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #525 for girls in 2025, against #516 on the official list, because Jazlyn/Jazlynn/Jazzlyn and Kaylin/Kaylynn/Kailyn and Eileen/Aileen/Ayleen move ahead once their spellings are combined.
How many kids will share the name Louise?
579 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Louise (0.16 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Louise 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 14 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Louise.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Louise?
About 74,800 people born in the US named Louise are alive today, with a median age of 75; half are between 64 and 83. That makes Louise a name most people associate with older generations.
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.
Louise by state
How common Louise was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in District of Columbia (6.4×), Minnesota (3.2×), Massachusetts (2.6×), Oregon (2.4×), Colorado (2.3×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Oklahoma, Arizona, Nevada.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Louise: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Louise, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Louise · Sibling names for Louise
Questions about the name Louise
What does Louise mean?
Louise means “famous in battle (feminine of Louis)” (Germanic, French origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Louise?
Louise was the 516th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 579 babies. Its best year was 1912, when it ranked 17th; the most babies were born in 1921 (9,180). Over the last ten years it has moved up 565 places. More babies were named Louise in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Louise a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Louise in the US.
Where is Louise most popular?
In 2021–2025, Louise was most common in District of Columbia (2.02 per 1,000 girls), followed by Minnesota and Maine.