Lois
Masculine
Lois is given to girls far more often — 332,950 girls against 2,644 boys since 1880. See Lois as a girl 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 first appears in US birth records in 1892 — 133 years ago. The typical Lois alive today was born around 1930, making them about 95 years old. About 600 people named Lois are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lois most popular?
Lois peaked in 1909, reaching #558 nationally. See the whole 1909 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
- 1892
- Most boys named
- 193087 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #558reached in 1909
- Change vs 2003
- −14.3%6 in 2021, from 7
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
Loiss among us
people named Lois are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Lois sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
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.
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Lois
Masculine
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 600 people named Lois are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lois in 2025?
- Lois is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Lois with classmates?
- Lois will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More L names
The most-given names starting with L, all years combined.
Larry#1084 · Lawrence#518 · Louis#249 · Logan#53 · Liam#1 · Lucas#10 · Luke#33 · Leonard#637
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Lois? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Lois and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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