Lou

Did you know?

A few things about Lou you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Lou

Lou Andreas-Salomem

German-Russian essayist, philosopher, and psychoanalyst (1861–1937)

Choose Lou and your child shares a first name with Lou Andreas-Salomem, a German-Russian essayist, philosopher, and psychoanalyst. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Lou, like who?” Lou Andreas-Salomem's Wikipedia article is available in 66 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Lou Andreas-Salomem on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Hofatelier Elvira, Public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 21,097 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Lou, 81 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Lou would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryLou has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Lous, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1881, when it ranked #442. Today it's #1,919, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📈Then vs nowLou is 8.5× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 178,571 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 21,097.
• 🚀TrendLou has climbed 404 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #1,919. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 📍Where it's lovedLou is most popular in Iowa, where it ranks #571, followed by Minnesota (#807) and Michigan (#999). It's in the top 1,000 in 3 states.
• ⚖️Boy or girlLou is given to both boys and girls: 55% of the 146 babies named Lou in 2025 were boys. That makes it one of the names that truly works for either.
• 🌍OriginLou is the most popular Ethiopian boy name in the US. That's out of 16 Ethiopian boy and unisex names in our list.

About the name Lou

Lou is a gender-neutral name of American, English and Ethiopian origin. It has 3 letters and 1 syllable, starting with L and ending in “-lou”. US birth records list Lou for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 144 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1881, when it ranked #442 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #1,919, with 81 babies. Of the 146 US babies named Lou in 2025, 45% were girls and 55% were boys.

Origin:American namesEnglish namesEthiopian namesGerman names