The surname Louis
A surname, carried by 23,738 people in the United States.
Pronounced /ˈluː.i/ 2 syllables Soundex L200 Also a first name
Origin
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.
Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How common it is
2010 US Census
There were 23,738 people named Louis in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 13,006 Americans. That is up 28% since 2000, when the Census counted 18,552.
Who is named Louis
Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census
66% of people named Louis identified as Black (not Hispanic), 23% as white (not Hispanic) and 4.1% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
- Black (not Hispanic) 66%
- White (not Hispanic) 23%
- Hispanic or Latino (any race) 4.1%
- Two or more races 3.0%
- Asian and Pacific Islander 2.7%
- American Indian and Alaska Native 1.2%
Famous Louiss
7 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Joe LouisAmerican boxer (1914-1981)
- Morris LouisAmerican painter (1912–1962)
- Willard LouisAmerican actor (1882–1926)
- Pierre-LouisActor and film director (1917–1987)
- Laurent LouisBelgian politician, born 1980
- Richard LouisBarbadian sprinter, 1964–2025
- Bernard LewisBritish-American historian (1916–2018)
Notable Louiss come mostly from the United States (3), France (1) and Belgium (1).
Spellings and sound-alikes
Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling
Questions
- Where does the surname Louis come from?
- 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…
- How common is the surname Louis?
- 23,738 people in the United States had the surname Louis in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 13,006 Americans. It ranked 1,510th of 162,253 surnames.
- What ethnicity is the surname Louis?
- In the 2010 Census, 66% of people named Louis identified as Black (not Hispanic), and 23% as white (not Hispanic).
- Who is the most famous person named Louis?
- Joe Louis, American boxer (1914-1981), followed by Morris Louis.
- Where is the surname Louis most common?
- Wikidata records people named Louis in the United States, France and Belgium and 2 other countries.
- How do you pronounce Louis?
- Louis is /ˈluː.i/, 2 syllables.
- Is the surname Louis getting more or less common?
- More common. 18,552 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 23,738 in 2010, up 28%.
- Is Louis also a first name?
- Yes. Louis is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.