Lou
Pronounced L UW1 (ARPABET)
- 1 syllable
- Peaked 1954
- 145 years in use
- 3 spellings
How popular is Lou?
Lou is a name given to both boys and girls, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 51,508 children — the 578th most common girls' name on record.
It peaked in 1954, went quiet for most of a century, and is climbing again. Its best single year was 1954, when 1,975 children were given it.
Three other spellings are counted in that total — Lew, Lue and Lu — because they are pronounced identically.
Roughly 13% of children named Lou are boys, so the split is a real one rather than a rounding error.
Spelling variants
These spellings sound identical to Lou and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.
- Lew
- Lue
- Lu
Nicknames
Lou is itself a short form of Louis.
Characteristics
- 1 syllable
Phonetic detail
- Pronunciations:
- L UW1
- Stress pattern:
- 1
- Syllables:
- 1
Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.
Names like Lou
Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.
Sibling names for Lou
Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.
Frequently asked questions
- How popular is the name Lou?
- Lou ranks 578th among girls' names in US records, with 51,508 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 532.
- Is Lou a unisex name?
- Yes. About 13% of children given the name are boys, which is a genuine split rather than a rounding error.
- When was Lou most popular?
- 1954, when 1,975 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
- How else is Lou spelled?
- Lew, Lue, Lu. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.