Lois
Lois was given to 124 girls in 2025, #1,670 among girls’ names; 335,594 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 97,800 Americans named Lois and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (29% of everyone recorded); the median is 77 years old and half are between 69 and 84.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Lois by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Lois mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Lois is “a female given name from Ancient Greek of biblical origin.”
From Ancient Greek Λωΐς (Lōḯs), of obscure meaning. Unrelated to Louise or Louisa.
/ˈləʊ.ɪs/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Lois?
#1,670 among girls’ names, 2025
Lois rose from #1,880 in 2015 to #1,670 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 61.1 to 77.1 per million.
10,587 babies in 1927, the peak
Lois peaked in 1927, when 10,587 babies were given it (10,505 girls, #19 among girls’ names). The 124 births of 2025 are 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 124 | #1,670 | 0.08 |
| 2024 | 121 | #1,690 | 0.07 |
| 2023 | 132 | #1,591 | 0.08 |
| 2022 | 124 | #1,690 | 0.08 |
| 2021 | 120 | #1,726 | 0.07 |
| 2020 | 106 | #1,846 | 0.07 |
| 2019 | 124 | #1,693 | 0.07 |
| 2018 | 122 | #1,701 | 0.07 |
| 2017 | 134 | #1,622 | 0.08 |
| 2016 | 119 | #1,751 | 0.07 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 109 | #1,880 | 0.06 |
| 2014 | 101 | #1,973 | 0.06 |
| 2013 | 78 | #2,359 | 0.04 |
| 2012 | 94 | #2,054 | 0.05 |
| 2011 | 72 | #2,524 | 0.04 |
| 2010 | 70 | #2,602 | 0.04 |
| 2009 | 80 | #2,411 | 0.04 |
| 2008 | 85 | #2,307 | 0.04 |
| 2007 | 82 | #2,342 | 0.04 |
| 2006 | 87 | #2,219 | 0.05 |
| 2005 | 65 | #2,612 | 0.04 |
| 2004 | 64 | #2,612 | 0.03 |
| 2003 | 73 | #2,310 | 0.04 |
| 2002 | 85 | #2,039 | 0.05 |
| 2001 | 84 | #2,022 | 0.05 |
| 2000 | 78 | #2,091 | 0.04 |
| 1999 | 76 | #2,044 | 0.04 |
| 1998 | 88 | #1,781 | 0.05 |
| 1997 | 100 | #1,598 | 0.06 |
| 1996 | 94 | #1,632 | 0.05 |
| 1995 | 98 | #1,551 | 0.06 |
| 1994 | 96 | #1,582 | 0.05 |
| 1993 | 91 | #1,657 | 0.05 |
| 1992 | 85 | #1,743 | 0.05 |
| 1991 | 109 | #1,454 | 0.06 |
| 1990 | 93 | #1,609 | 0.05 |
| 1989 | 117 | #1,327 | 0.06 |
| 1988 | 120 | #1,241 | 0.07 |
| 1987 | 110 | #1,277 | 0.06 |
| 1986 | 123 | #1,162 | 0.07 |
| 1985 | 129 | #1,122 | 0.07 |
| 1984 | 135 | #1,049 | 0.08 |
| 1983 | 148 | #985 | 0.09 |
| 1982 | 175 | #882 | 0.10 |
| 1981 | 187 | #836 | 0.11 |
| 1980 | 153 | #972 | 0.09 |
| 1979 | 174 | #880 | 0.11 |
| 1978 | 201 | #770 | 0.13 |
| 1977 | 183 | #821 | 0.12 |
| 1976 | 189 | #763 | 0.13 |
| 1975 | 222 | #676 | 0.15 |
| 1974 | 284 | #569 | 0.19 |
| 1973 | 311 | #540 | 0.21 |
| 1972 | 343 | #507 | 0.23 |
| 1971 | 460 | #447 | 0.28 |
| 1970 | 517 | #427 | 0.30 |
| 1969 | 565 | #403 | 0.33 |
| 1968 | 669 | #340 | 0.41 |
| 1967 | 755 | #315 | 0.46 |
| 1966 | 918 | #278 | 0.54 |
| 1965 | 1,204 | #249 | 0.68 |
| 1964 | 1,408 | #231 | 0.74 |
| 1963 | 1,580 | #217 | 0.82 |
| 1962 | 1,783 | #201 | 0.91 |
| 1961 | 2,103 | #183 | 1.0 |
| 1960 | 2,269 | #175 | 1.1 |
| 1959 | 2,485 | #162 | 1.2 |
| 1958 | 2,626 | #154 | 1.3 |
| 1957 | 2,877 | #145 | 1.4 |
| 1956 | 3,225 | #135 | 1.6 |
| 1955 | 3,418 | #124 | 1.7 |
| 1954 | 3,952 | #110 | 2.0 |
| 1953 | 4,219 | #91 | 2.2 |
| 1952 | 4,361 | #86 | 2.4 |
| 1951 | 4,533 | #85 | 2.5 |
| 1950 | 4,504 | #83 | 2.6 |
| 1949 | 4,915 | #73 | 2.9 |
| 1948 | 5,077 | #70 | 3.0 |
| 1947 | 5,717 | #63 | 3.2 |
| 1946 | 5,700 | #55 | 3.6 |
| 1945 | 5,148 | #48 | 3.9 |
| 1944 | 5,529 | #47 | 4.2 |
| 1943 | 6,132 | #43 | 4.4 |
| 1942 | 6,406 | #44 | 4.7 |
| 1941 | 6,105 | #43 | 5.1 |
| 1940 | 6,125 | #38 | 5.4 |
| 1939 | 6,034 | #35 | 5.5 |
| 1938 | 6,502 | #33 | 5.9 |
| 1937 | 6,932 | #29 | 6.5 |
| 1936 | 7,232 | #26 | 7.0 |
| 1935 | 7,990 | #21 | 7.6 |
| 1934 | 8,387 | #20 | 8.0 |
| 1933 | 8,655 | #19 | 8.6 |
| 1932 | 9,519 | #20 | 8.9 |
| 1931 | 9,348 | #20 | 8.8 |
| 1930 | 10,114 | #17 | 9.0 |
| 1929 | 10,295 | #17 | 9.2 |
| 1928 | 10,425 | #18 | 9.0 |
| 1927 | 10,505 | #19 | 8.8 |
| 1926 | 9,816 | #19 | 8.3 |
| 1925 | 9,573 | #18 | 7.9 |
| 1924 | 9,300 | #22 | 7.4 |
| 1923 | 7,814 | #27 | 6.5 |
| 1922 | 6,946 | #35 | 5.8 |
| 1921 | 6,899 | #38 | 5.6 |
| 1920 | 6,560 | #38 | 5.5 |
| 1919 | 5,976 | #40 | 5.3 |
| 1918 | 5,877 | #42 | 5.1 |
| 1917 | 5,485 | #43 | 5.1 |
| 1916 | 5,149 | #43 | 4.9 |
| 1915 | 4,775 | #47 | 4.9 |
| 1914 | 3,432 | #51 | 4.5 |
| 1913 | 2,560 | #59 | 4.1 |
| 1912 | 2,146 | #63 | 3.8 |
| 1911 | 1,508 | #68 | 3.6 |
| 1910 | 1,271 | #76 | 3.2 |
| 1909 | 1,157 | #73 | 3.3 |
| 1908 | 1,023 | #80 | 3.1 |
| 1907 | 899 | #85 | 2.8 |
| 1906 | 799 | #88 | 2.7 |
| 1905 | 763 | #88 | 2.6 |
| 1904 | 727 | #90 | 2.6 |
| 1903 | 664 | #92 | 2.5 |
| 1902 | 594 | #98 | 2.2 |
| 1901 | 488 | #109 | 2.0 |
| 1900 | 577 | #115 | 1.9 |
| 1899 | 415 | #117 | 1.8 |
| 1898 | 466 | #114 | 1.8 |
| 1897 | 457 | #111 | 2.0 |
| 1896 | 388 | #123 | 1.6 |
| 1895 | 311 | #144 | 1.3 |
| 1894 | 308 | #140 | 1.4 |
| 1893 | 260 | #152 | 1.2 |
| 1892 | 242 | #160 | 1.1 |
| 1891 | 206 | #162 | 1.1 |
| 1890 | 175 | #178 | 0.92 |
| 1889 | 154 | #185 | 0.86 |
| 1888 | 120 | #206 | 0.67 |
| 1887 | 129 | #176 | 0.88 |
| 1886 | 116 | #187 | 0.80 |
| 1885 | 105 | #183 | 0.79 |
| 1884 | 84 | #207 | 0.65 |
| 1883 | 76 | #195 | 0.68 |
| 1882 | 64 | #211 | 0.59 |
| 1881 | 53 | #205 | 0.58 |
| 1880 | 53 | #211 | 0.58 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Lois a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Lois has been given almost only to girls: 2,644 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Lois: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Lois, and how old are they?
97,800 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 29% of the 335,594 Americans ever recorded as Lois. The median Lois alive today is 77 years old; half are between 69 and 84.
The 2020 Census counted 131,667 people named Lois (130,744 women and girls, 923 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 132,890 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 35,500 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 49,900 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 6,610 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,910 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,290 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,510 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Lois born?
The states with the most babies named Lois are Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio, with 21% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 27,251 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 19,987 | #1,536 | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 18,569 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| New York | 18,188 | #1,966 | 0.6× |
| Texas | 13,852 | #1,585 | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 13,617 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| California | 11,679 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Minnesota | 10,844 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Wisconsin | 10,249 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Iowa | 9,871 | not ranked | 1.6× |
Where Lois is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Lois is most over-represented in Iowa: since 1910 it was given 1.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Lois with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Lois
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Lois and names like it
- Compare Lois and MelbaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sLois peaked in 1927.
- Pennsylvania’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Lois since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Lois: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1927The year the most babies were named Lois.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Lois alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with LMost given first.