first name
LOU
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 16,909 people named Lou, 75% reported their origin as White, 10.1% as Black and 6.1% as Asian or Pacific Islander. 64.7% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Lou peaked in 1954, when 1,547 babies got the name.
At least 38,198 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Lou by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1880s, when it ranked #245. The largest share of babies named Lou, 36.7%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Lou is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Lou has been most common in Mississippi (3.6×), Oklahoma (3.1×), and Arkansas (3×), and least common in Arizona (0.17×).
27,581 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Lou
Spelled almost the same
7 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Lou, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Lou ranks #8,700 of 156,621, with 3,619 people. See Lou as a last name
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🔎 LOU 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜ 1 in 17,862 Americans Rarer than 76.9% of us Peaked in 1954 with 1,547 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/lou/