Louis
Louis was given to 1,391 boys in 2025, #249 among boys’ names; 409,317 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 165,000 Americans named Louis and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (40% of everyone recorded); the median is 58 years old and half are between 35 and 72.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Louis by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Louis mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Louis is “a male given name from French.” Its etymology gives the senses “loud; famous” (*hlūdaz) and “battle” (*wīgą).
From French Louis, from Middle French Loïs, Loïc, &c., from Old French Looïs, Luis, Lodhuvigs, Lodevis, Lodhwig, &c., from Latin Ludovicus, from Clodovicus, from Frankish *Hlūdawīg, from Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz (“loud; famous”) + *wīgą (“battle”). Doublet of Lewis (which is inherited since the Middle Ages) and, more remotely, Aloysius, Luis, Ludwig, Luigi, and Clovis.
/ˈluː.i/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Louis?
#249 among boys’ names, 2025
Louis rose from #296 in 2015 to #249 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.63 to 0.81 per 1,000.
7,296 babies in 1921, the peak
Louis peaked in 1921, when 7,296 babies were given it (7,247 boys, #29 among boys’ names). The 1,397 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 19% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,391 | #249 | 0.81 |
| 2024 | 1,510 | #236 | 0.88 |
| 2023 | 1,478 | #238 | 0.86 |
| 2022 | 1,442 | #245 | 0.83 |
| 2021 | 1,422 | #251 | 0.81 |
| 2020 | 1,334 | #260 | 0.77 |
| 2019 | 1,475 | #249 | 0.82 |
| 2018 | 1,388 | #260 | 0.76 |
| 2017 | 1,302 | #277 | 0.70 |
| 2016 | 1,242 | #290 | 0.65 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,210 | #296 | 0.63 |
| 2014 | 1,229 | #289 | 0.64 |
| 2013 | 1,070 | #315 | 0.57 |
| 2012 | 1,057 | #312 | 0.56 |
| 2011 | 921 | #332 | 0.48 |
| 2010 | 921 | #342 | 0.48 |
| 2009 | 885 | #353 | 0.45 |
| 2008 | 909 | #350 | 0.45 |
| 2007 | 937 | #345 | 0.45 |
| 2006 | 1,001 | #320 | 0.49 |
| 2005 | 1,002 | #324 | 0.50 |
| 2004 | 1,051 | #302 | 0.53 |
| 2003 | 1,103 | #283 | 0.56 |
| 2002 | 1,143 | #272 | 0.59 |
| 2001 | 1,096 | #279 | 0.56 |
| 2000 | 1,135 | #279 | 0.58 |
| 1999 | 1,143 | #262 | 0.60 |
| 1998 | 1,181 | #252 | 0.62 |
| 1997 | 1,311 | #235 | 0.70 |
| 1996 | 1,283 | #235 | 0.68 |
| 1995 | 1,361 | #218 | 0.71 |
| 1994 | 1,411 | #206 | 0.73 |
| 1993 | 1,582 | #194 | 0.81 |
| 1992 | 1,619 | #192 | 0.81 |
| 1991 | 1,725 | #187 | 0.85 |
| 1990 | 1,820 | #168 | 0.89 |
| 1989 | 1,834 | #163 | 0.92 |
| 1988 | 1,707 | #165 | 0.89 |
| 1987 | 1,683 | #161 | 0.90 |
| 1986 | 1,686 | #160 | 0.92 |
| 1985 | 1,685 | #164 | 0.91 |
| 1984 | 1,711 | #158 | 0.95 |
| 1983 | 1,762 | #156 | 1.0 |
| 1982 | 1,694 | #162 | 0.93 |
| 1981 | 1,805 | #151 | 1.0 |
| 1980 | 1,787 | #151 | 1.0 |
| 1979 | 1,839 | #148 | 1.1 |
| 1978 | 1,753 | #149 | 1.1 |
| 1977 | 1,865 | #143 | 1.1 |
| 1976 | 1,781 | #142 | 1.1 |
| 1975 | 1,812 | #138 | 1.2 |
| 1974 | 1,932 | #134 | 1.2 |
| 1973 | 1,905 | #135 | 1.2 |
| 1972 | 2,102 | #130 | 1.3 |
| 1971 | 2,514 | #126 | 1.4 |
| 1970 | 2,642 | #124 | 1.4 |
| 1969 | 2,623 | #121 | 1.5 |
| 1968 | 2,709 | #109 | 1.6 |
| 1967 | 2,895 | #107 | 1.7 |
| 1966 | 2,992 | #104 | 1.7 |
| 1965 | 3,270 | #101 | 1.8 |
| 1964 | 3,585 | #102 | 1.8 |
| 1963 | 3,620 | #104 | 1.8 |
| 1962 | 3,595 | #107 | 1.7 |
| 1961 | 3,965 | #105 | 1.9 |
| 1960 | 4,128 | #106 | 1.9 |
| 1959 | 4,311 | #100 | 2.0 |
| 1958 | 4,445 | #94 | 2.1 |
| 1957 | 4,695 | #86 | 2.2 |
| 1956 | 4,910 | #82 | 2.3 |
| 1955 | 4,779 | #82 | 2.3 |
| 1954 | 4,848 | #81 | 2.4 |
| 1953 | 4,985 | #78 | 2.5 |
| 1952 | 4,924 | #79 | 2.5 |
| 1951 | 5,089 | #76 | 2.7 |
| 1950 | 4,947 | #66 | 2.8 |
| 1949 | 5,235 | #64 | 3.0 |
| 1948 | 5,386 | #64 | 3.1 |
| 1947 | 5,778 | #64 | 3.2 |
| 1946 | 4,918 | #63 | 3.0 |
| 1945 | 4,480 | #55 | 3.3 |
| 1944 | 4,678 | #54 | 3.4 |
| 1943 | 5,033 | #53 | 3.5 |
| 1942 | 5,151 | #51 | 3.7 |
| 1941 | 4,447 | #50 | 3.6 |
| 1940 | 4,324 | #50 | 3.7 |
| 1939 | 4,224 | #49 | 3.8 |
| 1938 | 4,390 | #47 | 4.0 |
| 1937 | 4,356 | #46 | 4.1 |
| 1936 | 4,418 | #44 | 4.3 |
| 1935 | 4,622 | #42 | 4.4 |
| 1934 | 4,682 | #40 | 4.5 |
| 1933 | 4,695 | #40 | 4.7 |
| 1932 | 5,134 | #39 | 4.9 |
| 1931 | 5,423 | #37 | 5.2 |
| 1930 | 5,810 | #34 | 5.3 |
| 1929 | 5,995 | #32 | 5.6 |
| 1928 | 6,299 | #32 | 5.7 |
| 1927 | 6,663 | #29 | 5.9 |
| 1926 | 6,513 | #30 | 5.9 |
| 1925 | 6,798 | #29 | 6.1 |
| 1924 | 7,043 | #28 | 6.2 |
| 1923 | 7,074 | #27 | 6.5 |
| 1922 | 7,095 | #27 | 6.5 |
| 1921 | 7,247 | #29 | 6.6 |
| 1920 | 6,966 | #28 | 6.5 |
| 1919 | 6,661 | #28 | 6.8 |
| 1918 | 7,082 | #24 | 7.0 |
| 1917 | 6,771 | #23 | 7.3 |
| 1916 | 6,817 | #22 | 7.7 |
| 1915 | 6,518 | #23 | 7.7 |
| 1914 | 5,495 | #20 | 8.4 |
| 1913 | 4,258 | #20 | 8.3 |
| 1912 | 3,591 | #20 | 8.4 |
| 1911 | 1,838 | #21 | 8.1 |
| 1910 | 1,569 | #24 | 8.1 |
| 1909 | 1,231 | #24 | 7.5 |
| 1908 | 1,317 | #22 | 8.5 |
| 1907 | 1,111 | #25 | 7.6 |
| 1906 | 1,101 | #22 | 8.3 |
| 1905 | 981 | #25 | 7.4 |
| 1904 | 936 | #26 | 7.3 |
| 1903 | 889 | #25 | 7.5 |
| 1902 | 912 | #25 | 7.4 |
| 1901 | 797 | #25 | 7.5 |
| 1900 | 1,097 | #26 | 7.3 |
| 1899 | 770 | #26 | 7.2 |
| 1898 | 861 | #27 | 7.0 |
| 1897 | 831 | #23 | 7.4 |
| 1896 | 871 | #22 | 7.3 |
| 1895 | 913 | #21 | 7.8 |
| 1894 | 869 | #21 | 7.5 |
| 1893 | 816 | #22 | 7.3 |
| 1892 | 865 | #22 | 7.1 |
| 1891 | 786 | #19 | 7.8 |
| 1890 | 860 | #19 | 7.7 |
| 1889 | 837 | #19 | 7.6 |
| 1888 | 884 | #19 | 7.3 |
| 1887 | 791 | #19 | 7.8 |
| 1886 | 846 | #19 | 7.6 |
| 1885 | 809 | #19 | 7.5 |
| 1884 | 886 | #19 | 7.7 |
| 1883 | 796 | #19 | 7.6 |
| 1882 | 852 | #18 | 7.5 |
| 1881 | 746 | #19 | 7.4 |
| 1880 | 828 | #19 | 7.5 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Louis a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Louis has been given almost only to boys: 2,847 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Louis: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Louis, and how old are they?
165,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 40% of the 409,317 Americans ever recorded as Louis. The median Louis alive today is 58 years old; half are between 35 and 72.
The 2020 Census counted 183,365 people named Louis (1,563 women and girls, 181,802 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 182,128 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 16,400 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 57,500 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 32,200 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 25,200 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 16,500 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 17,400 |
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 Louis born?
The states with the most babies named Louis are New York, Pennsylvania and California, with 31% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 60,004 | #191 | 1.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 31,397 | #207 | 1.2× |
| California | 24,211 | #258 | 0.9× |
| Texas | 22,009 | #419 | 0.9× |
| New Jersey | 21,143 | #222 | 1.8× |
| Illinois | 20,510 | #233 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 15,964 | #202 | 0.8× |
| Louisiana | 15,770 | #180 | 2.0× |
| Massachusetts | 13,357 | #181 | 1.1× |
| Michigan | 13,173 | #151 | 0.9× |
Where Louis is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Louis is most over-represented in Louisiana: since 1910 it was given 2.0 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 boys’ 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 Louis with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 409,649 babies since 1880, Louis is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,397 of their 1,397 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Louis
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 Louis and names like it
- Compare Louis and LoysBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sLouis peaked in 1921.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Louis since 1910.
- French namesWiktionary’s origin for Louis: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1921The year the most babies were named Louis.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Louis alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with LMost given first.