Louise

femaleGermanic, via French transmission

The French feminine form of Louis, from Germanic elements 'hlud' (famous) and 'wig' (warrior) — 'famous warrior'.

Origin: Germanic, via French transmission

Official popularity data is available for 7 regions, from 1946 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #5 in Republic of Ireland in 1980. See regions.

Louise: Recorded since 1946, it reached #5 in 1980, and it was still inside the top 100 in 2025.

7registrars recorded it
266times a registrar ranked it
80years from first to last
#5highest recorded position
43groupings it qualifies for
56names it appears alongside

What stands out in Louise's record

Held a top-100 place for 56 years running. Names by top-100 run
England and Wales registered 1,309 births with the name in 1996, its largest count from any one registrar. Names by yearly birth count
Appears alongside 56 other names across 9 kinds of recorded relationship. All recorded relationships
Shares a published list with another name across 75 years. Longest shared records

loo-EEZ/lu.ˈiz/

Compare Louise Run Name Checker on Louise

Data Confidence

Evidence: ModerateCompleteness: SubstantialEditorial review: 2026-07-21

Confidence in the evidencebehind this name's data — never a rating of the name itself, and never affected by how well it matches your preferences. How this is assessed

Because: backed by officially or academically authoritative sources, recently verified, popularity data covers multiple regions.

Source authority

Averaged from the real per-claim source-authority assessments already computed for this name's meaning/origin/pronunciation/popularity evidence.

Independent corroboration

Averaged from the real per-claim supporting-source counts already computed for this name's evidence.

See full evidence assessment (8 dimensions, 1 not yet tracked)

Source agreement

No recorded source disagreement for this name's meanings or origins.

Recency

Calculated from how long ago this record was last verified (2026-07-21), against a 270-day staleness threshold.

Geographic relevance

Calculated from the number of geographies with official popularity data (7) — broader official coverage means the evidence base is relevant to more of where the name is actually used.

Completeness

Calculated from how many of the expected data sections (variants, similar names, popularity, notable usage, IPA pronunciation) are actually populated for this name.

Direct observation vs. inference

Averaged from the real per-claim direct-observation-vs-inference ratios already computed for this name's evidence.

Identity & variant resolution quality

Cross-source identity and variant resolution requires HEKNO Knowledge, which isn't connected yet.

Name Characteristics

How these are calculated

Descriptive attributes of the name itself — not a confidence measurement, and not an overall quality score. Namewise doesn't approve or disapprove of names.

Pronunciation clarity

Editorial judgement of how consistently this name is pronounced correctly on first read, mapped from an easy/moderate/variable rating to a number. Describes the name — not a measure of evidence confidence.

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling: shorter names with fewer irregular letter clusters score higher. A disclosed formula, not an editorial opinion — and not a confidence measurement.

Recorded regional spread

Derived from how many geographies' official statistics record this name. It measures where the name is registered, not how well-known it feels to people living there.

International spread

Derived from the same official statistical coverage, scaled to reflect how widely the name crosses national datasets. Not a measure of how easily it is understood in another language.

Trend stability

Derived from the name's traditional/modern classification and its current popularity trend direction.

Overview

Origin: Germanic, via French transmission
Meaning: The French feminine form of Louis, from Germanic elements 'hlud' (famous) and 'wig' (warrior) — 'famous warrior'.
Pronunciation: loo-EEZ
Syllables: 2
Common nicknames: None recorded
Classification: Traditional & modern
Gender usage: female
Language family: Germanic, via French transmission

Popularity

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2025

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#44
1997	#45
1998	#49
1999	#65
2000	#81
2001	#79
2002	#58
2003	#70
2004	#77
2005	#112
2006	#143
2007	#148
2008	#191
2009	#201
2010	#208
2011	#288
2012	#291
2013	#366
2014	#432
2015	#417
2016	#415
2017	#499
2018	#437
2019	#562
2020	#559
2021	#709
2022	#706
2023	#627
2024	#952
2025	#816

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Norway in 69 of the 80 years from 1946 to 2025.

In 2025: #59 among girls in Norway, #213 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #816 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 7 national registrars across 7 regions, 1946–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1946
First recorded at #379 among girls in Norway in 1946 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #816 among girls in England and Wales, in 2025.
England and Wales · Girls

Louise appears in 6 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Norway · Girls, which has ranked it in 69 years beginning in 1946, and has registered 2,384 births with the name.

Louise across 6 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Louise's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Norway · Girls	#379 (1946)	#59 (2025)	#59 (2025)	69 of 80	2,384 (1946–2025)	111 (2025)
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#54 (1964)	#5 (1980)	#213 (2025)	62 of 62	11,953 (1964–2025)	601 (1982)
New South Wales, Australia · Girls	#73 (1952)	#23 (1967)	#100 (1995)	42 of 44	9,301 (1952–1995)	375 (1961)
New Zealand · Girls	#93 (1954)	#27 (1980)	#100 (1994)	41 of 41	4,580 (1954–1994)	170 (1968)
England and Wales · Girls	#44 (1996)	#44 (1996)	#816 (2025)	30 of 30	11,428 (1996–2025)	1,309 (1996)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#33 (1997)	#33 (1997)	#296 (2017)	21 of 21	513 (1997–2017)	72 (1997)

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

Inside a single year a registrar's ranking is its birth counts put in order, so the top of a list is always the name given to the most babies that year. Across years the two separate, because the number of births and the number of names sharing them both change.

In New Zealand · Girls the name reached its highest position, #27, in 1980, when 128 births were registered with it. More were registered in 1968 — 170 — in a year it ranked #36.

Louise by decade in Norway · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Louise in Norway · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1940s	10	2 of 10	5
1950s	18	4 of 10	5
1960s	50	8 of 10	6
1970s	116	9 of 10	13
1980s	173	10 of 10	17
1990s	357	10 of 10	36
2000s	452	10 of 10	45
2010s	674	10 of 10	67
2020sbusiest	534	6 of 10	89

Across Norway · Girls, the 2020s were its busiest decade — the 6 years of it this list covers, averaging 89 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 2023 and 2024, when recorded births rose by 26, from 72 to 98.

See the names Norwayhas recorded the most births with →

Louise appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

What the record shows

Recorded by 7 registrars between 1946 and 2025, ranked in 77 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #5, first reached in 1980.

It held a top-100 place in 68 years, 56 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 1,309 births, registered in England and Wales in 1996.

1 registrar ranked it inside their own top 10.

Its record falls into 4 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 1 year.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1952, and 78 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Louise was ranked #5 in Republic of Ireland · Girls in 1980. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Louis · #38, 67y
Louisa · #166, 59y
Louisiana · #2278, 14y
Louiza · #2416, 15y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 7 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Elizabeth · #5, 81y
Stephanie · #5, 72y
Ben · #6, 72y
Eva · #6, 81y

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1940 and 1949.

Alma · #5, 72y
Anette · #5, 69y
Arne · #5, 81y
Elizabeth · #5, 81y

Comparisons involving Louise

Existing comparison pages where Louise and another name were ranked in the same published list, in the same years, on the same scale. Each has its own evidence; none of them says the names are alike.

Longest shared records

Names ranked alongside Louise in the same published list across at least 25 years.

Louise vs Jodie
In 1996 they stood at #44 and #43 in England and Wales · Girls, 1 places apart; by 2025 they were #816 and #3035.
Louise · Jodie · 30 shared years, 1996–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 England and Wales ranking
Louise vs Courtney
In 1996 they stood at #44 and #52 in England and Wales · Girls, 8 places apart; by 2025 they were #816 and #2278.
Louise · Courtney · 30 shared years, 1996–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 England and Wales ranking
Grace vs Louise
In 1996 they stood at #41 and #44 in England and Wales · Girls, 3 places apart; by 2025 they were #27 and #816.
Grace · Louise · 30 shared years, 1996–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 England and Wales ranking

Closest long-running positions

Names that stayed close to Louise within one registrar's list over many years. A gap measured inside that list, never across registrars.

Louise vs Jane
Across 33 shared years in New South Wales, Australia · Girls, Louise and Jane averaged 12.3 places apart, ending at #44 and #93.
Louise · Jane · 33 shared years, 1952–1984 · Closest over the longest run
See the 1984 New South Wales, Australia ranking
Louise vs Katrina
Across 26 shared years in New Zealand · Girls, Louise and Katrina averaged 12.4 places apart, ending at #77 and #81.
Louise · Katrina · 26 shared years, 1965–1990 · Closest over the longest run
See the 1990 New Zealand ranking
Louise vs Tracey
Across 26 shared years in New South Wales, Australia · Girls, Louise and Tracey averaged 13.2 places apart, ending at #35 and #85.
Louise · Tracey · 26 shared years, 1958–1983 · Closest over the longest run
See the 1983 New South Wales, Australia ranking

Order changes

Pairs where Louise and another name exchanged position in a published list, taken as the final meaningful change.

Laura vs Louise
In 1983, Laura moved ahead of Louise in Republic of Ireland · Girls — #11 and #7 the year before became #3 and #10.
Laura · Louise · 62 shared years, 1964–2025 · One moved ahead of the other
See the 1983 Republic of Ireland ranking
Louise vs Deirdre
In 1980, Louise moved ahead of Deirdre in Republic of Ireland · Girls — #16 and #8 the year before became #5 and #15.
Louise · Deirdre · 51 shared years, 1964–2019 · One moved ahead of the other
See the 1980 Republic of Ireland ranking
Louise vs Lorraine
In 1980, Louise moved ahead of Lorraine in Republic of Ireland · Girls — #16 and #14 the year before became #5 and #18.
Louise · Lorraine · 50 shared years, 1964–2018 · One moved ahead of the other
See the 1980 Republic of Ireland ranking

Compared inside Republic of Ireland lists

Pairs involving Louise measured in Republic of Ireland's own published lists — the registrar that recorded Louise at its highest position.

Louise vs Denise
In 1964 they stood at #54 and #56 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, 2 places apart; by 2020 they were #315 and #834.
Louise · Denise · 54 shared years, 1964–2020 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2020 Republic of Ireland ranking
Louise vs Rita
In 1964 they stood at #54 and #59 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, 5 places apart; by 2025 they were #213 and #718.
Louise · Rita · 55 shared years, 1964–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Republic of Ireland ranking
Louise vs Elaine
In 1964 they stood at #54 and #58 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, 4 places apart; by 2025 they were #213 and #608.
Louise · Elaine · 59 shared years, 1964–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Republic of Ireland ranking

Republic of Ireland overview→

Louise and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,577 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Louise without appearing here.

Louise moved ahead of

Danielle Compare
In 2024 they stood at #952 and #934 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2025 that had become #816 and #1454.
Josephine
In 2015 they stood at #494 and #462 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2016 that had become #236 and #661.
Lauren
In 2024 they stood at #952 and #934 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2025 that had become #816 and #1166.
Kirsten
In 1989 they stood at #281 and #270 in Norway · Girls; by 1990 that had become #191 and #481.

Moved ahead of Louise

Tara
In 2023 they stood at #627 and #637 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #952 and #547.
Maeve
In 2018 they stood at #437 and #507 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2019 that had become #562 and #218.
May
In 2023 they stood at #627 and #637 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #952 and #610.
Rita Compare
In 2023 they stood at #627 and #851 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #952 and #625.

Moved the opposite way to Louise

Anita
Between 1946 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Louise went from #379 to #59 while Anita went from #152 to #459.
Åse
Between 1946 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Louise went from #379 to #59 while Åse went from #23 to #93.
Aud
Between 1946 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Louise went from #379 to #59 while Aud went from #13 to #427.
Bjørg
Between 1946 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Louise went from #379 to #59 while Bjørg went from #6 to #369.

Moved the same way as Louise

Ada
Between 1946 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Louise went from #379 to #59 and Ada from #256 to #18.
Alma Compare
Between 1946 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Louise went from #379 to #59 and Alma from #390 to #8.
Astrid
Between 1946 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Louise went from #379 to #59 and Astrid from #16 to #9.
Ella Compare
Between 1946 and 2025 in Norway · Girls, Louise went from #379 to #59 and Ella from #123 to #4.

Meaning & Origin

The French feminine form of Louis, from Germanic elements 'hlud' (famous) and 'wig' (warrior) — 'famous warrior'.

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Germanic, via French transmission

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Other names with a researched meaning and origin →

Where Louise is officially recorded

7 official registrars have recorded Louise, between 1946 and 2025, in 77 of those 80 years. Each registrar publishes for its own population on its own methodology, so the positions below are each one country's own ranking and are not comparable with one another.

Registrar	Recorded	Years	Its own highest position
Norway	1946–2025	69	#59 in 2025
New South Wales, Australia	1952–1995	42	#23 in 1967
New Zealand	1954–1994	41	#27 in 1980
Republic of Ireland	1964–2025	62	#5 in 1980
England and Wales	1996–2025	30	#44 in 1996
Northern Ireland	1997–2017	21	#33 in 1997
Scotland	2024	1	#476 in 2024

Its high point came 58 years earlier in New South Wales, Australia (1967) than in Norway (2025).

Variants

No spelling variants or nicknames recorded yet.

Similar Names

No similar names recorded yet for this name.

Similarity is a demonstration score — see methodology.

Spelling

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling — see Name Characteristics above.

No commonly used alternate spellings recorded.

Pronunciation

loo-EEZ/lu.ˈiz/

Syllables: 2
Ease: easy

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Where Louise Is Recorded

National statistical agencies have recorded Louise in these places. This shows where the name is used — not where it comes from, and not that it carries particular cultural significance there.

New South Wales, AustraliaEngland and WalesNorthern IrelandScotlandRepublic of IrelandNorwayNew Zealand

Notable Usage

No safely-sourced notable usage recorded for this name yet.

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

Preview with a surname

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Louise

Louise at a glance

What stands out in Louise's record

Overview

Popularity

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Louise across 6 official records

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

Louise by decade in Norway · Girls

Louise appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Louise

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Comparisons involving Louise

Longest shared records

Closest long-running positions

Order changes

Compared inside Republic of Ireland lists

Louise and the names beside it

Louise moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Louise

Moved the opposite way to Louise

Moved the same way as Louise

Meaning & Origin

Where Louise is officially recorded

Variants

Similar Names

Spelling

Pronunciation

Where Louise Is Recorded

Notable Usage

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

Louise at a glance

What stands out in Louise's record

Louise across 6 official records

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

Louise by decade in Norway · Girls

Louise appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Louise

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1940s

Comparisons involving Louise

Longest shared records

Closest long-running positions

Order changes

Compared inside Republic of Ireland lists

Louise and the names beside it

Louise moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Louise

Moved the opposite way to Louise

Moved the same way as Louise