Lou
About Lou
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.
As of October 2026, Lou ranked #2674 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #125 in 1880, Nameberry popularity #619.
Editor's take: The name Lou is a girl's name of French origin meaning "renowned warrior".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | #4,807 | 29 | 16.2 |
| 2016 | #4,207 | 35 | 19.8 |
| 2017 | #4,649 | 30 | 17.4 |
| 2018 | #3,822 | 39 | 22.9 |
| 2019 | #3,757 | 40 | 23.8 |
| 2020 | #3,527 | 43 | 26.6 |
| 2021 | #3,052 | 54 | 32.9 |
| 2022 | #2,772 | 62 | 37.8 |
| 2023 | #2,570 | 69 | 43 |
| 2024 | #2,541 | 70 | 43.2 |
| 2025 | #2,674 | 65 | 40.4 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Lou.
- Tillie
- Georgie
- Junie
- Dottie
- Ruthie
- Tilly
- Teddy
- Tobie
- Kit
- Nellie
- Lettie
- Marnie
- Dot
- Teddi
- Polly
- Mazzy
- Goldie
- Penny
- Dolly
- Minnie
Lou on lists
Famous Lous
- 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
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"