boy's name
Luis
loo-EES
- Origin Germanic
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 310,491
the United States
#144
2025 births
Luis is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "famous warrior." It is the Spanish form of Louis, from the Frankish Hlodowig, and was borne by kings of Spain, France and Portugal alike.
- Luis is a name of Germanic origin.
- Peaked in 2007, when 8,066 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,336 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Luis over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 111 |
| 1890s | 111 |
| 1900s | 244 |
| 1910s | 1,023 |
| 1920s | 3,082 |
| 1930s | 2,831 |
| 1940s | 3,928 |
| 1950s | 9,865 |
| 1960s | 16,039 |
| 1970s | 24,207 |
| 1980s | 37,833 |
| 1990s | 65,123 |
| 2000s | 74,528 |
| 2010s | 39,117 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 16,458 |
What Luis means
Luis means renowned in battle. The elements are hlod, fame, and wig, war — so the name promises a reputation earned by fighting rather than inherited.
Where Luis comes from
Luis is the Spanish form of the Frankish Hlodowig, from hlod, fame, and wig, battle — Latinised as Ludovicus, and the source of Louis in French, Ludwig in German, Luigi in Italian and Luís in Portuguese. Clovis, the first Frankish king to convert to Christianity, bore the earliest form of the name. Its Spanish-speaking use is enormous: Luis is among the most common men's names across Latin America, and its diminutive Lucho is standard in the Andean countries.
Luis in use
Our data shows Luis falling rather than rising, peaking in 2007, and it first appears in our records in 1880. Louis, the French form, sits at 49 in England and Wales while Luis is chiefly American — the same name split cleanly between two markets by spelling.
How popular is Luis?
In 2025, Luis was given to 2,482 babies in the United States, ranking #144 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Luis is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Luis is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Luïs | Luïs is a rare spelling of Luis, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 130 times, mostly in France. | 130 |
| Lùis | Lùis is a rare spelling of Luis, written with a grave accent and recorded about 25 times, mostly in France. | 25 |
Names that peaked alongside Luis
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Luis also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Luis over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Luis
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Luis 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.
- Aragonese
- Luis
- Danish
- Ludvig
- Galician
- Lois
- German
- Ludwig
- Greek
- Louis
- Latin
- Aloysius
- Norwegian
- Ludvig
- Old High German
- Ludwig
- Polish
- Ludwik
- Portuguese
- Luiz
- Romanian
- Ludovic
- Spanish
- Luis
- Swedish
- Ludvig
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Lluis
Sibling names for Luis
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Luis — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Luis
What does the name Luis mean?
Luis means "famous warrior," from the Germanic hlod, fame, and wig, battle.
Are Luis and Louis the same name?
Yes — Luis is the Spanish form and Louis the French, both from the Frankish Hlodowig.
What is Lucho?
The standard Spanish diminutive of Luis, particularly in the Andean countries.
How popular is the name Luis?
In 2025, Luis was given to 2,482 babies in the United States, ranking #144 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Luis a girl's or a boy's name?
Luis is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Luis?
Luis has 2 syllables.
When was Luis most popular?
Luis peaked in 2007, when 8,066 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Luis?
Luis is usually shortened to Lucho.
Is Luis a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Luis currently ranks #144 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.