Lou

Short form of Louise

"renowned warrior"

Lou Origin and Meaning

The name Lou is a girl's name of French origin meaning "renowned warrior".

Lou is usually a short form of Louise, Louisa, or Lucy in English-speaking countries, when Lou is used for girls at all. But in France and Germany, it's a fashionable choice all on its own, sure to gain even more widespread style credibility since Heidi Klum and Seal chose it for their daughter.

At one time Lou was pervasive as a girl's middle name (Mary Lou, Betty Lou), and seems to be making something of a comeback--Louis C.K. has a Mary Lou and Keri Russell named her daughter Willa Lou.

Lou Rank in US Top 1000

# 955 in the US

Lou Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 640 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Lou

• 640 Nameberry 2025
• 16 France 2023
• 199 Germany 2016
• 84 Netherlands 2024
• 23 Belgium 2023
• 52 Switzerland 2023

20 Names Similar to Lou

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Lou.

• Ruthie
• Tillie
• Georgie
• Junie
• Teddy
• Dottie
• Kit
• Tilly
• Dot
• Lettie
• Teddi
• Nellie
• Goldie
• Freddie
• Marnie
• Joni
• Bennie
• Joanie
• Bess
• Penny

Famous People Named Lou

• Lou Henry Hoover US First Lady as wife of President Herbert Hoover
• Louise "Lou" Hoffner German pop singer
• Louise "Lou" Andreas Salomé, Russian psychoanalyst
• Louise "Lou" Teasdale English hair and makeup artist
• Lou Ann Barton American singer
• Lou Ann Walker American memoirist
• Mary Lou Retton American gymnast
• Mary Lou Daniels, American tennis player
• Mary Lou Kolbenschlag American actress
• Betty Lou Gerson American actress
• Betty Lou Bredemus American actress; mother of actress Julia Roberts
• Betty Lou Holland American actress
• Betty Lou Keim American actress
• Amy Lou Adams American actress
• Lou Sulola Samuel (b. 2009) daughter of model Heidi Klum and singer Seal
• Willa Lou Deary (b. 2011) daughter of actress Keri Russell
• Bowie Lou Bellour (b. 2014) daughter of designer Rebecca Minkoff and Gavin Bellour

The name Lou in Pop Culture

• Lou Ellen character in "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series
• Lou Ann Poovey, character on TV's "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C."
• Lou Ann Ruiz character in the novel "The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver
• Louise Ada "Lou" Beale character on British soap opera EastEnders
• Lou character on TV's "Bunk'd"
• Lou Fleming character in the "Heartland" series by Lauren Brooke
• Louise "Lou" Friedman character in movie "Blended"
• Cindy Lou Who character in Dr Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!"
• "Skip to My Lou" popular children's song
• Louise "Lou" Jackson character in TV show Love My Way
• Louisa "Lou" Clark Main character in "Me Before You" by JoJo Moyes
• Lou Miller character in "Ocean's 8"