Lois
Feminine
Lois is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 332,950 girls against 2,644 boys since 1880. See Lois as a boy name
Lois is one of the few Greek names English took without latinizing it. Almost everything else from that source was fitted with a Latin ending on the way — Phoebe kept its shape but Zoe, Chloe and Rhoda had to be argued about — and this one came through the New Testament unchanged and stayed that way.
How old is the name Lois?
Lois was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Lois alive today was born around 1933, making them about 92 years old. About 109,000 people named Lois are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lois most popular?
Lois peaked in 1929, reaching #17 nationally. Today it ranks #1666, 1,649 places below that high. See the whole 1929 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Lois
A comic strip has carried the name since the nineteen-thirties, and for most Americans that is where they meet it: a newspaper reporter who is better at her job than the man sitting next to her. The name was already near the top of the American lists when she appeared, so she did not cause it, but she has kept it in front of the public for the ninety years since. Underneath that is one verse in a letter from Paul, naming a grandmother, and nothing else at all — which makes it one of the thinnest sources any common English name has.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The Greek name has no agreed source. Readings connecting it to words for better or more desirable are guesses, and the honest position is that a name appearing once in a letter leaves very little to work with.
Pronouncing Lois
LOH-iss
Two syllables with the weight at the front. Some speakers compress it to one, LOYSS, which is where the spelling Loyce comes from.
Nicknames for Lois
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 192710,505 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #17reached in 1929
- Change vs 2022
- 0.0%124 in 2025, from 124
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Lois in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Lois in Greek — transliteration
- Loida in Spanish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Loiss among us
people named Lois are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 12,962 born in 2025 was named Lois
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Louise test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Lois's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Louise climbed just as high around 1912, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Louise's path sketches the road Lois is walking now.
Lois sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Lois is headed
Lois should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Lois beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Lois in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Everyone can spell it and say it on first hearing.
- Four letters, two syllables, and no ambiguity in the spelling.
- It has an unbroken run in American records from the first year they were kept.
- It is one of the most generation-marked names in the language.
- Its meaning is genuinely unknown, so books that give one confidently are guessing.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of boys, though it reads overwhelmingly as a girl's name.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Lois to the vote.
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What they receive
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Lois
Feminine · #1666 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Loiss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 109,000 people named Lois are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lois in 2025?
- Lois ranks #1666 among US girl names in 2025, with 124 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Lois?
- About 1 in every 12,962 US girls born in 2025 was named Lois — 124 in all.
- Will my child share the name Lois with classmates?
- Lois will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Lois
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Aiza#1666 · Aanya#1666 · Raizy#1666 · Emmi#1666 · Yehudis#1666 · Amor#1666 · Miya#1673 · Adrienne#1673
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Lois? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Lois and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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