Loyola
Feminine · “From the Basque place name Loyola”
Loyola is the Basque place name of the family of Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits, given as a girl's name in late nineteenth-century America. It carries a tower house in the Basque hills and a book of prayer that is still followed step by step.
How old is the name Loyola?
Loyola first appears in US birth records in 1888 — 137 years ago. The typical Loyola alive today was born around 1927, making them about 98 years old. About 100 people named Loyola are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Loyola most popular?
Loyola peaked in 1888, reaching #1276 nationally. See the whole 1888 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Loyola
Íñigo López de Loyola was born in 1491 in the family's fortified tower house near Azpeitia in the Basque Country; after his conversion he took the name Ignatius, and the tower now stands enclosed within the great baroque Sanctuary of Loyola. His Spiritual Exercises, a structured month of prayer and meditation, became the foundation of Jesuit life and are still used in retreats around the world. Catholic families in America gave Loyola as a girl's name in the late nineteenth century.
Meaning
From the Basque place name Loyola
Loyola is the name of the Basque estate of Ignatius's family; the place name's own meaning is not settled.
Pronouncing Loyola
loy-OH-luh
Three syllables with the stress on the second.
Nicknames for Loyola
Limited
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
- 1888
- Most girls named
- 192627 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1276reached in 1888
- Change vs 1955
- +20.0%6 in 1958, from 5
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.
Loyola in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Loiola in Basque — spelling variant
- Loyola in Spanish — same name
Loyolas among us
people named Loyola 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
Loyola 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
- A real place name with a deep religious history.
- Comes with Lola as a ready pet form.
- Almost certain to be the only one.
- Most people know it as the name of Jesuit universities, not as a given name.
- It reads as a nineteenth-century name.
- It is strongly associated with the Catholic Church.
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Frequently asked
- How many Loyolas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 100 people named Loyola are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Loyola in 2025?
- Loyola is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Loyola with classmates?
- Loyola will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More L names
The most-given names starting with L, all years combined.
Linda#902 · Lisa#987 · Laura#379 · Lauren#401 · Lillian#57 · Lori#1721 · Louise#514 · Lois#1666
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Loyola? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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