Lou

Diminutive of Louis or Lewis, French and German
"renowned warrior"

Lou Origin and Meaning

The name Lou is a boy's name of German, French origin meaning "renowned warrior".

Lou, all by itself, is become fashionable for girls, which usually makes a name LESS fashionable for boys. But Lou, like Bill or Jim, is rarely used on its own for boys anyway. (You wouldn't name a boy Frederick Lou the way that girls are named Mary Lou or, in the case of Keri Russell's new baby, Willa Lou.) Long form Louis is getting cool again and, with the Lewis spelling, is the Number 2 name in Scotland.

# 949 in the US

Lou Rank in US Top 1000

# 856 on Nameberry

Lou Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Lou Popularity

Famous People Named Lou

  • Lou Gehrig
    American baseball player
  • Louis "Lou" Dobbs
    American journalist
  • Lou Diamond Phillips
    American actor
  • Lou Reed
    American musician
  • Lou Macari
    Scottish footballer
  • Lou Costello
    American actor/comedian of duo Abbot & Costello
  • Louis Allen "Lou" Rawls
    American recording artist, voice actor, songwriter, and record producer

Lou in Pop Culture

  • Lou Grant
    main character on TV's "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Lou Grant"
  • Lou Peable
    character in movie "Legally Mad"
  • Lou Avery
    character on TV's "Mad Men"
  • Lou Carpenter
    character on Australian soap "Neighbours"
  • Lou
    policeman on TV's "The Simpsons"
  • Lou Todd
    character on British sitcom "Little Britain"
  • Louis "Lou" Vartann
    character on TV's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation