girl's name
Lou
LOO
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 1
- Letters 3
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 99,769
France
#12
2025 births
Lou is a girl's name in France, a short form of Louise and Louis meaning "famous warrior." It ranks twelfth in France as a registered first name in its own right, where English-speaking countries treat it almost entirely as a nickname.
- Lou is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 2005, when 2,455 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 260 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1966.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Lou over time
Births per decade in France, 1960s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 20 |
| 1970s | 25 |
| 1980s | 495 |
| 1990s | 4,295 |
| 2000s | 19,960 |
| 2010s | 20,905 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 13,700 |
What Lou means
Lou means famous warrior, inherited from Louis and Louise. It is a short form that has become a full name in French, so it carries the meaning of the longer name rather than one of its own.
Where Lou comes from
Lou clips Louis or Louise, both from the Germanic hlud, famous, and wig, war. The move from nickname to registered name is the interesting part: French naming law was liberalised in 1993, ending the requirement that names be drawn from calendars of saints and historical figures, and short forms like Lou, Zoé and Théo were among the immediate beneficiaries. In English the same syllable stayed a diminutive, usually of Louise or Lucy for girls and Louis for boys, and it is strongly associated with Lou Reed and Lou Gehrig. The French usage is overwhelmingly feminine, which is the reverse of the English association.
Lou in use
Lou ranks twelfth in France with about 2,270 births in 2025 as a name in its own right. Elsewhere it barely registers as a given name: 1,927 in the United States and beyond 4,000 in England and Wales, where it survives as a nickname rather than something written on a birth certificate. Our American series shows its own peak back in 1954, when it was largely a masculine short form.
How popular is Lou?
In 2025, Lou was given to 2,270 babies in France, ranking #12 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Lou is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
How Lou is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Loü | Loü is a rare spelling of Lou, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 15 times, mostly in France. | 15 |
| Loù | Loù is a rare spelling of Lou, written with a grave accent and recorded about 10 times, mostly in France. | 10 |
Names that peaked alongside Lou
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Lou also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Lou over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Lou in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Lou
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Lou — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Lou
What does the name Lou mean?
Lou means "famous warrior," carried over from Louis and Louise, of which it is a short form.
Is Lou a boy's or a girl's name?
In France it is overwhelmingly a girls' name and ranks twelfth. In English it is more often a masculine nickname.
Can Lou be a full first name?
In France it is one. French naming law was liberalised in 1993, and short forms like Lou were registered as names in their own right from then on.
How popular is Lou?
Twelfth in France, but beyond 1,900 in the United States.
How many syllables are in Lou?
Lou has 1 syllable.
Is Lou a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Lou currently ranks #12 in France. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.