How popular is the baby name Lou in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Lou.

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Popularity of the baby name Lou


Posts that mention the name Lou

Popular baby names in Switzerland, 2023

Flag of Switzerland
Flag of Switzerland

Last year, the European country of Switzerland welcomed 80,024 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Mia and Noah.

Here are Switzerland’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Mia, 380 baby girls
  2. Emma, 376
  3. Sofia, 358
  4. Emilia, 313
  5. Elena, 286
  6. Lia, 260 (tie)
  7. Olivia, 260 (tie)
  8. Lina, 259
  9. Nora, 240
  10. Mila, 239
  11. Ella, 208
  12. Lara, 207
  13. Lena, 202
  14. Luna, 200
  15. Lea, 196
  16. Malea, 194
  17. Anna, 192
  18. Alice, 191 (3-way tie)
  19. Sophia, 191 (3-way tie)
  20. Valentina, 191 (3-way tie)
  21. Yara, 188
  22. Elina, 183
  23. Nina, 182
  24. Alina, 181
  25. Leonie, 178
  26. Aurora, 176
  27. Giulia, 172
  28. Chiara, 170
  29. Eva, 164
  30. Elin, 162 (3-way tie)
  31. Julia, 162 (3-way tie)
  32. Laura, 162 (3-way tie)
  33. Amelia, 156 (tie)
  34. Emily, 156 (tie)
  35. Livia, 155
  36. Luana, 154
  37. Sophie, 147
  38. Alma, 145
  39. Maria, 133
  40. Elisa, 131
  41. Juna, 130
  42. Sara, 126
  43. Yuna, 125
  44. Zoé, 124
  45. Dua, 120
  46. Ayla, 118 (tie)
  47. Clara, 118 (tie)
  48. Malia, 117 (tie)
  49. Mara, 117 (tie)
  50. Inaya, 114 (4-way tie)
  51. Jana, 114 (4-way tie)
  52. Lou, 114 (4-way tie)
  53. Victoria, 114 (4-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Noah, 495 baby boys
  2. Liam, 442
  3. Matteo, 362
  4. Gabriel, 284
  5. Leano, 282
  6. Leo, 273
  7. Luca, 271
  8. Leon, 255
  9. Elias, 246
  10. Lio, 245
  11. Louis, 241
  12. Nino, 201
  13. Leonardo, 196
  14. Aaron, 193
  15. Ben, 189
  16. Elio, 187
  17. Elia, 186
  18. Theo, 182
  19. Luan, 180 (tie)
  20. Samuel, 180 (tie)
  21. David, 173 (tie)
  22. Levi, 173 (tie)
  23. Livio, 172
  24. Malik, 168
  25. Mateo, 166
  26. Nico, 161
  27. Arthur, 160
  28. Adam, 158 (tie)
  29. Lian, 158 (tie)
  30. Leandro, 157
  31. Diego, 155
  32. Julian, 151
  33. Finn, 150 (tie)
  34. Mattia, 150 (tie)
  35. Noé, 146
  36. Emil, 143 (tie)
  37. Enea, 143 (tie)
  38. Nael, 141
  39. Mael, 140
  40. Levin, 138
  41. Oliver, 137
  42. Milo, 133
  43. Kian, 132
  44. Rayan, 131
  45. Enzo, 130
  46. Daniel, 129 (tie)
  47. Robin, 129 (tie)
  48. Emilio, 126 (tie)
  49. Lino, 126 (tie)
  50. Lucas, 124

The girls’ top 100 included Lynn (65th), Amira (76th), Kiara (89th), and Aurelia (94th).

The boys’ top 100 included Laurin (58th), Nevio (72nd), Andrin (88th), and Nils (93rd).

Switzerland has four national languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh. Here are the top baby names among the speakers of each of these languages:

Girl namesBoy names
German speakers
(62.3% of the population)
1. Mia, 289
2. Emilia, 287
3. Sofia, 249
1. Noah, 323
2. Matteo, 282
3. Liam, 279
French speakers
(22.8% of pop.)
1. Emma, 125
2. Olivia, 103
3. Alice, 94
1. Noah, 143
2. Gabriel, 140
3. Liam, 139
Italian speakers
(8.0% of pop.)
1. Emma, 25
2. Aurora, 24
3. Ginevra/Sofia, 21 each
1. Leonardo, 38
2. Noah, 28
3. Enea, 26
Romansh speakers
(0.5% of pop.)
1. Amalia/Gianna/Hannah, 2 each1. Mauro, 4
2. Luca/Nino, 3 each

And here’s a selection of uncommon names that were given to just two babies each in Switzerland in 2023:

Rare girl names Rare boy names
Aulona, Binja, Colombe, Dorela, Elsi, Flutra, Geraldine, Helbest, Ikonija, Joanna, Katia, Lorenza, Monika, Nephele, Orlane, Palmyre, Rivka, Sira, Théodora, Ursina, Vinia, Winnie, Yma, ZerinAlerio, Brusk, Clovis, Décio, Elimelech, Fiete, Glen, Hanno, Ishan, Jigdel, Kenneth, Lulzim, Matty, Nordhen, Ousmane, Pieter, Rolf, Sherwin, Tristán, Urs, Vinzent, Waylon, Yonah, Zayon

Helbest is a Kurdish word meaning “poem,” while Lulzim is based on an Albanian verb meaning “to bloom,” “to flourish.”

Finally, here are Switzerland’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: First names of newborns – Federal Statistical Office, Languages of Switzerland – Wikipedia, Wiktionary

Image: Adapted from Flag of Switzerland (public domain)

Popular baby names in Belgium, 2023

Flag of Belgium
Flag of Belgium

Last year, the European country of Belgium welcomed 110,400 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Noah.

Here are Belgium’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 587 baby girls
  2. Emma, 429
  3. Louise, 365
  4. Lina, 362 (tie)
  5. Sofia, 362 (tie)
  6. Alice, 356
  7. Eva, 352
  8. Anna, 351
  9. Mila, 331
  10. Juliette, 325
  11. Nora, 293
  12. Lucie, 275
  13. Ella, 273
  14. Mia, 271
  15. Elena, 266
  16. Inaya, 263
  17. Camille, 261
  18. Luna, 246
  19. Victoria, 244
  20. Alba, 242
  21. Jade, 240
  22. Julia, 234
  23. Lou, 227
  24. Giulia, 223
  25. Léa, 222
  26. Nina, 214
  27. Marie, 213
  28. Liv, 212
  29. Lily, 206
  30. Mona, 204 (tie)
  31. Noor, 204 (tie)
  32. Renée, 203
  33. Lena, 198
  34. Ellie, 186
  35. Billie, 185 (tie)
  36. Chloé, 185 (tie)
  37. Elise, 178
  38. Zoé, 170
  39. Alix, 167
  40. Livia, 163
  41. Amélie, 162
  42. Nour, 157
  43. Aya, 156
  44. Sara, 150
  45. Amira, 149 (tie)
  46. Rose, 149 (tie)
  47. Ambre, 148
  48. Jeanne, 147
  49. Clara, 144
  50. Manon, 142

Boy names

  1. Noah, 589 baby boys
  2. Arthur, 577
  3. Liam, 498
  4. Adam, 472
  5. Louis, 463
  6. Jules, 456
  7. Lucas, 394
  8. Gabriel, 378
  9. Victor, 336
  10. Matteo, 297
  11. Oscar, 286
  12. Leon, 275 (tie)
  13. Mohamed, 275 (tie)
  14. Léon, 244
  15. Finn, 241
  16. Lewis, 238
  17. Mathis, 236
  18. Luca, 232
  19. Raphaël, 223
  20. Hugo, 221
  21. Elias, 215
  22. Théo, 210
  23. Amir, 209
  24. Achille, 207
  25. Nathan, 206
  26. Rayan, 203
  27. Otis, 187
  28. Eden, 185
  29. Milo, 183
  30. Marcel, 182
  31. Maurice, 181
  32. Léo, 180 (tie)
  33. Yanis, 180 (tie)
  34. Isaac, 179
  35. David, 172
  36. Gaston, 171
  37. Basile, 170
  38. Lou, 163
  39. Charles, 162 (tie)
  40. Noé, 162 (tie)
  41. Maël, 161
  42. Naël, 160
  43. Ibrahim, 159
  44. Georges, 157
  45. Ayden, 155 (tie)
  46. Henri, 155 (tie)
  47. Aaron, 153 (3-way tie)
  48. Sacha, 153 (3-way tie)
  49. Vic, 153 (3-way tie)
  50. Emiel, 150

The six girl names that entered the girls’ top 100 last year were Florence, Millie, Estelle, Ayla, Aria, and Fatima.

The nine boy names that entered the boy’s top 100 last year were Andrea, Daniel, Eliott, Haroun, James, Julien, Mil, Thomas, and Warre.

The fastest-rising girl names were Eva (+70 baby girls) and Lou (+63), while the fastest-rising boy names were Ayden (+42 baby boys) and Matteo (+35).

Map of the three regions of Belgium
Belgium’s three regions

The top baby names within each of Belgium’s three regions were…

Girl namesBoy names
Flanders (in the north)
57.6% of the population
Language: Dutch
1. Olivia, 346
2. Anna, 222
3. Mila, 219
4. Nora, 216
5. Ella, 207
1. Noah, 359
2. Arthur, 349
3. Liam, 282
4. Jules, 262
5. Leon, 257
Wallonia (in the south)
31.8% of pop.
Languages: French & German
1. Eva, 201
2. Olivia, 191
3. Emma, 171
4. Alba, 166
5. Alice, 165
1. Gabriel, 240
2. Arthur, 195
3. Louis, 184
4. Jules, 177
5. Noah, 175
Brussels (the capital region)
10.6% of pop.
Languages: Dutch & French
1. Sofia, 75
2. Nour, 60
3. Emma, 58
4. Olivia, 50
5. Lina, 49
1. Adam, 93
2. Mohamed, 87
3. Gabriel, 65
4. Yanis, 58
5. Noah, 55

And here’s a selection of names from the other end of the spectrum — the names that were given to just 5 babies each in Belgium last year:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Asmae, Blanche, Carlota, Deborah, Elli, Frie, Gigi, Hilona, Isabeau, Jinan, Kimya, Lente, Marcelle, Nika, Ozanne, Puck, Renske, Sibylle, Trixie, Violet, Wissal, Yarah, ZélyaAdar, Brenn, Camiel, Dylano, Ézéchiel, Finley, Gerard, Haider, Illan, Jelle, Kas, Largo, Merijn, Naé, Ole, Pharell, Rakan, Soann, Tijn, Virgil, Wasim, Yvar, Zacharie

In Dutch, the word lente refers to the season of spring.

I didn’t post about Belgium’s top baby names of 2022, but here are Belgium’s 2021 rankings.

Sources: First names for boys and girls – STATBEL, 4.5% decrease in births in 2023 compared to the average for 2019-2022 – Statbel, Demographics of Belgium – Wikipedia

Image: Adapted from Flag of Belgium (public domain)
Map: Adapted from Regions of Belgium by Ssolbergj under CC BY 3.0.

Popular baby names in Paris, 2023

Flag of France
Flag of France

We’ve already looked at the top names in France, so now let’s check out the top names in France’s capital city, Paris.

Last year, Paris’ most popular baby names were Louise and Gabriel.

Here are the city’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Louise, 190 baby girls
  2. Alma, 189
  3. Alice, 138
  4. Anna, 135
  5. Olivia, 134
  6. Jeanne, 129
  7. Gabrielle, 118
  8. Emma, 114
  9. Adèle, 112
  10. Iris, 111 (tie)
  11. Rose, 111 (tie)
  12. Léa, 108
  13. Chloé, 104
  14. Victoire, 99
  15. Jade, 97
  16. Lina, 94
  17. Victoria, 93
  18. Charlie, 91
  19. Lou, 90
  20. Joséphine, 89 (tie)
  21. Sofia, 89 (tie)
  22. Ava, 87 (4-way tie)
  23. Diane, 87 (4-way tie)
  24. Mia, 87 (4-way tie)
  25. Sarah, 87 (4-way tie)
  26. Zoé, 86
  27. Ella, 85
  28. Nour, 82
  29. Alix, 81
  30. Julia, 80
  31. Suzanne, 79
  32. Juliette, 78
  33. Maya, 76 (tie)
  34. Nina, 76 (tie)
  35. Alba, 74 (3-way tie)
  36. Charlotte, 74 (3-way tie)
  37. Eva, 74 (3-way tie)
  38. Agathe, 73 (tie)
  39. Romy, 73 (tie)
  40. Mariam, 72
  41. Fatoumata, 69
  42. Inaya, 68
  43. Aminata, 64
  44. Elena, 62
  45. Ambre, 61 (tie)
  46. Inès, 61 (tie)
  47. Apolline, 60
  48. Romane, 59
  49. Alya, 57 (3-way tie)
  50. Céleste, 57 (3-way tie)
  51. Giulia, 57 (3-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Gabriel, 321 baby boys
  2. Adam, 240
  3. Raphaël, 235
  4. Louis, 191
  5. Noah, 188
  6. Isaac, 181
  7. Mohamed, 175
  8. Arthur, 172
  9. Gaspard, 152
  10. Joseph, 147
  11. Léon, 137
  12. Lucas, 131
  13. Victor, 127
  14. Léo, 124
  15. Paul, 123
  16. Alexandre, 121 (tie)
  17. Ibrahim, 121 (tie)
  18. Aaron, 111
  19. Sacha, 108
  20. Andrea, 105 (tie)
  21. Ismaël, 105 (tie)
  22. Liam, 103
  23. Augustin, 92 (tie)
  24. Oscar, 92 (tie)
  25. Côme, 91
  26. Maël, 87
  27. Auguste, 86 (tie)
  28. Noé, 86 (tie)
  29. Jules, 84
  30. Antoine, 83
  31. Abel, 81 (tie)
  32. Timothée, 81 (tie)
  33. Hugo, 80
  34. Marceau, 78 (3-way tie)
  35. Marius, 78 (3-way tie)
  36. Théo, 78 (3-way tie)
  37. Charles, 77
  38. Simon, 76
  39. Eliott, 74
  40. Basile, 72
  41. Eden, 71
  42. Octave, 70 (tie)
  43. Zayn, 70 (tie)
  44. Léonard, 69 (tie)
  45. Nathan, 69 (tie)
  46. Georges, 67
  47. Mathis, 66
  48. Ethan, 65 (tie)
  49. Maxime, 65 (tie)
  50. Camille, 64

How interesting that Ambre, the second-most-popular girl name in France, just barely made the top 50 in Paris.

The girls’ top 100 included Raphaëlle (63rd), Olympe (76th), Brune (83rd), and Marie (99th).

The boys’ top 100 included Gustave (67th), Naël (78th), Malo (83rd), and Aurèle (96th).

Here’s a selection of names from lower down in the rankings, which includes all names given to at least five Parisian babies (of either one gender or the other) per year.

Girl namesBoy names
Castille (25 baby girls), Gisèle (19), Sibylle (17), Ninon (14), Ysé (12), Olympia (11), Alizée (6), Amicie (5), Domitille (5), Lital (5)Hippolyte (26 baby boys), Soan (26), Edouard (22), Zacharie (17), Mayeul (6), Armel (5), Doron (5), Manoé (5), Pacôme (5), Wandrille (5)

Wandrille is the French form of the Germanic name Wandregisel (which belonged to a 7th-century Catholic saint). The second element of Wandregisel is the same element upon which the name Gisèle is based.

Finally, here’s a link to Paris’ 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

P.S. Do you think the Paris Olympics will inspire more French parents to choose the girl names Olympe and Olympia in 2024?

Sources: Prénoms déclarés – Paris Data, Behind the Name

Image: Adapted from Flag of France (public domain)

Popular baby names in France, 2023

Flag of France
Flag of France

Last year, the European country of France welcomed about 678,000 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Louise and Gabriel.

Here are France’s top 50 girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Louise, 3,177 baby girls
  2. Ambre, 3,168
  3. Alba, 3,088
  4. Jade, 2,891
  5. Emma, 2,663
  6. Rose, 2,375
  7. Alma, 2,342
  8. Alice, 2,256
  9. Romy, 2,198
  10. Anna, 2,129
  11. Eva, 2,113
  12. Lina, 2,075
  13. Mia, 2,012
  14. Inaya, 1,845 (tie)
  15. Agathe, 1,845 (tie)
  16. Lou, 1,844
  17. Julia, 1,836
  18. Iris, 1,776
  19. Léna, 1,702
  20. Giulia, 1,679
  21. Charlie, 1,678
  22. Adèle, 1,663
  23. Victoire, 1,634
  24. Olivia, 1,612
  25. Chloé, 1,577
  26. Léa, 1,558
  27. Juliette, 1,544 (tie)
  28. Jeanne, 1,544 (tie)
  29. Luna, 1,480
  30. Nina, 1,478
  31. Nour, 1,415
  32. Léonie, 1,398
  33. Zoé, 1,374
  34. Sofia, 1,283
  35. Victoria, 1,247
  36. Romane, 1,241
  37. Lola, 1,217
  38. Lya, 1,151
  39. Ava, 1,149
  40. Alya, 1,146
  41. Lucie, 1,087
  42. Alix, 1,080
  43. Charlotte, 1,064
  44. Lyana, 1,048
  45. Elena, 1,029
  46. Inès, 1,012
  47. Mila, 1,009
  48. Emy, 993
  49. Margaux, 984
  50. Albane, 979

Boy names

  1. Gabriel, 4,527 baby boys
  2. Raphaël, 3,477
  3. Léo, 3,454
  4. Louis, 3,331
  5. Maël, 3,280
  6. Noah, 3,163
  7. Jules, 3,020
  8. Adam, 2,966
  9. Arthur, 2,915
  10. Isaac, 2,551
  11. Liam, 2,462
  12. Sacha, 2,446
  13. Eden, 2,387
  14. Lucas, 2,324
  15. Gabin, 2,246
  16. Léon, 2,226
  17. Mohamed, 2,138
  18. Hugo, 2,023
  19. Naël, 1,973
  20. Noé, 1,966
  21. Marceau, 1,960
  22. Aaron, 1,952
  23. Paul, 1,951
  24. Ethan, 1,858
  25. Ayden, 1,850
  26. Nathan, 1,697
  27. Marius, 1,620
  28. Théo, 1,613
  29. Ibrahim, 1,597
  30. Malo, 1,572
  31. Elio, 1,459
  32. Tom, 1,458
  33. Nino, 1,447
  34. Victor, 1,413
  35. Martin, 1,411 (tie)
  36. Eliott, 1,411 (tie)
  37. Mathis, 1,410
  38. Lyam, 1,371
  39. Gaspard, 1,349
  40. Imran, 1,277
  41. Milo, 1,198 (tie)
  42. Augustin, 1,198 (tie)
  43. Robin, 1,181
  44. Valentin, 1,173
  45. Timéo, 1,159
  46. Léandre, 1,157
  47. Axel, 1,151
  48. Antoine, 1,129
  49. Nolan, 1,128
  50. Tiago, 1,123 (3-way tie)
  51. Sohan, 1,123 (3-way tie)
  52. Côme, 1,123 (3-way tie)

More than 1,000 babies separated the #1 boy name (Gabriel) from the #2 boy name (Raphaël), while fewer than 10 separated the #1 girl name (Louise) from the #2 girl name (Ambre). Quite a contrast.

The girls’ top 100 included Lyna (57th), Apolline (64th), Clémence (70th), and Zélie (96th).

The boys’ top 100 included Kaïs (53rd), Mahé (66th), Livio (78th), and Timothée (95th).

Finally, here are France’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Classement des prénoms en France depuis 1900 – Insee, Demographic report 2023 – Insee

Image: Adapted from Flag of France (public domain)