# Louis (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/louis/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 23,738 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,510 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 13,006 people |
| Change since 2000 | +28% (18,552 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈluː.i/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From French Louis, from Middle French Loïs, Loïc, &c., from Old French Looïs, Luis, Lodhuvigs, Lodevis, Lodhwig, &c., from Latin Ludovicus, from Clodovicus, from Frankish *Hlūdawīg, from Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz (“loud; famous”) + *wīgą (“battle”). Doublet of Lewis (which is inherited since the Middle Ages) and, more remotely, Aloysius, Luis, Ludwig, Luigi, and Clovis.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Louis in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 23% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 66% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 4.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 2.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.2% |
| Two or more races | 3.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Louis in the United States, France, Belgium, Barbados and the United Kingdom.

## People named Louis

- Joe Louis, American boxer (1914-1981)
- Morris Louis, American painter (1912–1962)
- Willard Louis, American actor (1882–1926)
- Pierre-Louis, actor and film director (1917–1987)
- Laurent Louis, Belgian politician
- Richard Louis, Barbadian sprinter
- Bernard Lewis, British-American historian (1916–2018)

## Similar surnames

Luis, Loos, Loss, Luisi, Loucks, Louk, Loux, Lewis, Leach, Lugo, Lake, Locke.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.