Luise
Feminine · “famous in battle”
Luise is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 581 girls against 5 boys since 1880.
Luise is the German Louise, and in Germany it was for a century the name of a queen the whole country mourned. It is said in three syllables, loo-EE-zeh, which gives it a lilt that the English Louise, with two, does not have.
How old is the name Luise?
Luise first appears in US birth records in 1909 — 116 years ago. The typical Luise alive today was born around 1937, making them about 88 years old. About 200 people named Luise are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Luise most popular?
Luise peaked in 1937, reaching #1416 nationally. See the whole 1937 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Hludwig to Luise
The story of Luise
Luise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz married the future king of Prussia and was queen at a hard moment. After Napoleon crushed the Prussian army, she went to meet him at Tilsit in person to plead for gentler terms; he was courteous and gave her nothing. She died young a few years later, and her memory became a national cult, with an order of merit named for her and a son who became the first German emperor. In the twentieth century the actress Luise Rainer carried the name to Hollywood and won the Academy Award for best actress in consecutive years.
Meaning
famous in battle, through Louis
The feminine of Ludwig, the German form of Louis, from Old High German hlut, famous, and wig, battle.
How the name formed
- Hludwig
- Ludwig
- Louise
- Luise
Related forms: Louise · Louisa · Luisa · Luisa · Luiza
Pronouncing Luise
loo-EE-zuh
In German, three syllables with the stress on the second and a final e that is spoken. Many Americans will say it like Louise, loo-EEZ, and families differ on which they use.
Nicknames for Luise
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
- 1909
- Most girls named
- 193727 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1416reached in 1937
- Change vs 2020
- 0.0%5 in 2022, 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.
Luise in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Louise in French — same name
- Louisa in English — related form
- Luisa in Italian — same name
- Luisa in Spanish — same name
- Luiza in Polish — same name
Luises among us
people named Luise 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
Luise 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
- It has a clear meaning and a long, documented royal history.
- It is recognizably the same name as Louise in every European language.
- The German pronunciation is gentle and easy once heard.
- Most people will assume it is a misspelling of Louise.
- She will need to choose between the German three-syllable saying and the English two-syllable one, and teach whichever she picks.
- A very few boys appear under this spelling in the record, but it reads as a girl's name in every language that uses it.
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What they receive
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Luise
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Luises are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Luise are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Luise in 2025?
- Luise is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Luise with classmates?
- Luise 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 Luise? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Luise and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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