The first “Lois club” was formed in 1979 in Minnesota. Since then, more clubs have sprouted up in Minnesota, in other states, and in other countries (like England, Ireland, New Zealand and Norway).
Within the last few weeks I’ve read articles about two different Minnesota Lois clubs — the Twin Cities West club and the Winona club — and was struck by how little the members seem to like their shared first name.
In fact, commiseration seems to be one of the (unstated) purposes of Lois clubs:
The Lois Club is a group of women with a name-in-common, who meet four to five times a year for lunch. They enjoy the company of other women named Lois, who have suffered from the harassment of nicknames as children (i.e. Lo-ass, Lo-bottom) and the misspelling of their simple four-letter name such as Louis, Louise or Lewis.
Two Loises did have mildly positive things to say about their name:
- Lois Carlson of the Twin Cities West club said, “It was between Irma and Lois, and I’m glad they picked Lois.”
- Lois Kramer of the Winona chapter said she liked that Lois has an “s” at the end. “It’s kind of different, when your name ends in s.”
But Lois Johnson, 82, summed up the collective opinion pretty well when she said: “I just accept it. It’s not good, it’s not bad, it’s just a name.”
What are your thoughts on the name Lois? Would you give it to a baby born in 2016?
Sources:
- Jackson, Sharyn. “At the Lois Club, your name is your ticket.” Star Tribune 5 Jan. 2016.
- Ratliff, Marcia. “What’s shared in a name: Lois Club of Winona gathers to talk, catch up.” Winona Daily News 30 Mar. 2016.
Image: Adapted from Chaises-saint-denis (public domain) by Thierry Caro
I’m in the UK, I know a 10 year old, a baby and a 60 year old, all called Lois.
Interesting! A 10-year-old Lois would be a bit harder to find over here.
Lois is still relatively popular in England/Wales, though usage is declining. It ranked 112th w/ 478 baby girls in 2007 (the earliest set of data I’ve got) and 140th w/ 389 baby girls in 2014 (the most recent data we’ll have until this summer).
The last time Lois was ranked that high in the U.S. was the 1950s, and the last time our raw numbers were in that range was the early 1970s.
Not being a native speaker, nor living in either the UK or the USA, I miss out on all the feelings that this name seems to engender. It’s just a nice name to me… nothing wrong with it… sounds perfectly OK.
Lois would be an aggressively contrarian choice for a baby born in 2016, at least in North America. It’s an okay name, though. I wouldn’t cringe if I heard it on a small child.
I think “contrarian choice” is a good way to put it. If someone were trying to pick an intentionally unfashionable baby name right now, Lois would fit the bill. So would Gail, Rhonda, Wanda, Jean, Suzanne, etc. That might make a fun list post, actually. Hm…
My name is Lois. I actually like my name . Now! Not so much when I was young. I haven’t met a Lois that isn’t super nice!
We used Lois as a middle name in 2016. Our baby girl is Georgiana Lois and we think it’s beautiful!!
Recently spotted an article about yet another Lois club in Minnesota, this one in Aitkin. Here’s a quote:
How does a “Lois” join the Lois Club?
@Lois – I think you just find the Lois Club closest to you and start attending the meet-ups. And, if there isn’t a local chapter, you could always start one!