Girls' name · since 1880
Lois
332,950 babies named Lois in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1927. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #115 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,666 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 332,950
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Lois currently ranks #1666 among girls' names in America, with 332,950 babies recorded since 1880.
Social Security Administration records show Lois recorded 332,950 times among girls since 1880, holding rank #1666 nationally today, ahead of 90% of girls, peaking in the 1920s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #115 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,666 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 332,950 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Lois ranks #115 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,666 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 332,950 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #115 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,666 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 332,950
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Lois's 332,950 recorded births place it above 99.84% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Pennsylvania.
How Lois compares
332,950 Top 1% higher than 99% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Lois's all-time total is 886x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Lois | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 332,950 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 10,505 | 21 | 19,840 |
Lois's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Lois's full recorded timeline at 1953, 13% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 87% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1880, with just 53 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1927 peak of 10,505 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Lois popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1927)
- 10,505
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Lois popularity over time - boys
2,644 total births recorded since 1892 (Lois as boys' name)
Lois by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (88,133 births, 26% of the file).
1920s was Lois's strongest decade.
88,133 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 26% of all-time use.
Lois births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 954
1880s
954 births
- 1890s 3,228
1890s
3,228 births
- 1900s 7,691
1900s
7,691 births
- 1910s
1910s
38,179 births
- 1920s
1920s
88,133 births
- 1930s
1930s
80,713 births
- 1940s
1940s
56,854 births
- 1950s
1950s
36,200 births
- 1960s 13,254
1960s
13,254 births
- 1970s 2,884
1970s
2,884 births
- 1980s 1,397
1980s
1,397 births
- 1990s 930
1990s
930 births
- 2000s 783
2000s
783 births
- 2010s 1,023
2010s
1,023 births
- 2020s 727
2020s
727 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 88,133 births (26% of all-time use).
How Lois compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Lois's total volume
Lois by state
Where Lois concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Pennsylvania | | 27,236 | 8.2% |
| #2 | Illinois | | 19,976 | 6.0% |
| #3 | Ohio | | 18,563 | 5.6% |
| #4 | New York | | 18,182 | 5.5% |
| #5 | Michigan | | 13,617 | 4.1% |
| #6 | Texas | | 13,592 | 4.1% |
| #7 | California | | 11,674 | 3.5% |
| #8 | Minnesota | | 10,844 | 3.3% |
27,236 of 332,950 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Lois appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Lois? ▼
Where does Lois sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Lois most popular? ▼
Where is Lois most popular? ▼
How long has the name Lois been used? ▼
What names are similar to Lois? ▼
What to do with Lois's data
- Lois's decade-level peak was the 1920s (88,133 total births); usage has since declined to 727 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Pennsylvania records the most Loiss (27,236 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Pennsylvania names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Lois
Nearby Names Like Lois
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Lois
Compare Lois side by side: Lois vs Loise Lois vs Loida Lois vs Loie
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Lois
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Lois: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1927)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Lois draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.