Louis
Where Louis comes from
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.
- French
- 2 syllables
Along the way
- 1638Louis XIV of France bornKing of France and Navarre from 1643 to 1715
- 1822Louis Pasteur bornFrench chemist and microbiologist
- 1880First SSA yearAlready #19 among boys — 828 babies in the first year on record.
- 1882Peak, #18852 babies named Louis — more than any year before or since.
In the dictionary
- A male given name from French.
- A female given name.
Namesakes
- Louis Pasteur · French chemist and microbiologist, 1822–1895
- Louis XIV of France · King of France and Navarre from 1643 to 1715, 1638–1715
- Louis Armstrong · American jazz musician, trumpeter and singer, 1901–1971
- Louis XVI of France · King of France and Navarre from 1774 to 1791, then King of the French from 1791 to 1792, 1754–1793
- Louis XV of France · King of France and Navarre 1715 to 1774, 1710–1774
Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.