Lou
2025 SSA
2025 SSA
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.
Lou for girls#2674 US
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 for boys#1929 US
Lou, all by itself, is become fashionable for girls, which usually makes a name LESS fashionable for boys. But Lou, like Bill or Jim, is rarely used on its own for boys anyway. (You wouldn't name a boy Frederick Lou the way that girls are named Mary Lou or, in the case of Keri Russell's new baby, Willa Lou.) Long form Louis is getting cool again and, with the Lewis spelling, is the Number 2 name in Scotland.
Pronounced LOO.
As of October 2026, Lou ranked #2674 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #125 in 1880, Nameberry popularity #861.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · girls | Births · girls | US rank · boys | Births · boys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | 0 | #3,854 | 27 |
| 2015 | #4,807 | 29 | #3,060 | 38 |
| 2016 | #4,207 | 35 | #2,709 | 45 |
| 2017 | #4,649 | 30 | #3,166 | 37 |
| 2018 | #3,822 | 39 | #3,487 | 32 |
| 2019 | #3,757 | 40 | #2,833 | 44 |
| 2020 | #3,527 | 43 | #2,339 | 58 |
| 2021 | #3,052 | 54 | #2,288 | 61 |
| 2022 | #2,772 | 62 | #2,049 | 74 |
| 2023 | #2,570 | 69 | #2,037 | 74 |
| 2024 | #2,541 | 70 | #2,118 | 70 |
| 2025 | #2,674 | 65 | #1,929 | 81 |
World rankings
Lou for boys
Similar names
These 40 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Lou.
Similar girl names
Similar boy names
Lou on lists
Famous Lous
- Lou Henry HooverGirl
US First Lady as wife of President Herbert Hoover
- Louise "Lou" HoffnerGirl
German pop singer
- Louise "Lou" AndreasGirl
Salomé, Russian psychoanalyst
- Louise "Lou" TeasdaleGirl
English hair and makeup artist
- Lou Ann BartonGirl
American singer
- Lou Ann WalkerGirl
American memoirist
- Mary Lou RettonGirl
American gymnast
- MaryGirl
Lou Daniels, American tennis player
- Mary Lou KolbenschlagGirl
American actress
- Betty Lou GersonGirl
American actress
- Betty Lou BredemusGirl
American actress; mother of actress Julia Roberts
- Betty Lou HollandGirl
American actress
- Betty Lou KeimGirl
American actress
- Amy Lou AdamsGirl
American actress
- Lou Sulola Samuel (b. 2009)Girl
daughter of model Heidi Klum and singer Seal
- Willa Lou Deary (b. 2011)Girl
daughter of actress Keri Russell
- Bowie Lou Bellour (b. 2014)Girl
daughter of designer Rebecca Minkoff and Gavin Bellour
- Lou GehrigBoy
American baseball player
- Louis "Lou" DobbsBoy
American journalist
- Lou Diamond PhillipsBoy
American actor
- Lou ReedBoy
American musician
- Lou MacariBoy
Scottish footballer
- Lou CostelloBoy
American actor/comedian of duo Abbot & Costello
- Louis Allen "Lou" RawlsBoy
American recording artist, voice actor, songwriter, and record producer
Lou in pop culture
- Lou EllenGirl
character in "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series
- LouGirl
Ann Poovey, character on TV's "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C."
- Lou Ann RuizGirl
character in the novel "The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver
- Louise Ada "Lou" BealeGirl
character on British soap opera EastEnders
- LouGirl
character on TV's "Bunk'd"
- Lou FlemingGirl
character in the "Heartland" series by Lauren Brooke
- Louise "Lou" FriedmanGirl
character in movie "Blended"
- Cindy Lou WhoGirl
character in Dr Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!"
- "Skip to My Lou"Girl
popular children's song
- Louise "Lou" JacksonGirl
character in TV show Love My Way
- Louisa "Lou" ClarkGirl
Main character in "Me Before You" by JoJo Moyes
- Lou MillerGirl
character in "Ocean's 8"
- Lou GrantBoy
main character on TV's "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Lou Grant"
- Lou PeableBoy
character in movie "Legally Mad"
- Lou AveryBoy
character on TV's "Mad Men"
- Lou CarpenterBoy
character on Australian soap "Neighbours"
- LouBoy
policeman on TV's "The Simpsons"
- Lou ToddBoy
character on British sitcom "Little Britain"
- Louis "Lou" VartannBoy
character on TV's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
- Lou GroverBoy
character on the american tv series Hawaii Five o