Lulu
Feminine · “famous warrior”
Lulu is a reduplication — the naming habit of doubling a syllable, which nearly every language on earth uses for children and almost none uses for adults. English kept a handful of these as full names, and Lulu is the most durable.
How old is the name Lulu?
Lulu was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Lulu alive today was born around 1900, making them about 125 years old. About 2,100 people named Lulu are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lulu most popular?
Lulu peaked in 1881, reaching #76 nationally. Today it ranks #3167, 3,091 places below that high. See the whole 1881 chart.
Where it comes from
From Hludwig to Lulu
The story of Lulu
Doubling a syllable to make an affectionate name is one of the oldest naming habits there is, and English produced Lulu, Coco, Mimi, Fifi and Dodie the same way. Lulu was in ordinary spoken use as a pet form of Louise and Lucy through the nineteenth century, and American families registered it as a legal name often enough that it stood in the national top eighty in the 1880s. It also went into the language as a common noun for something remarkable.
Meaningscholars disagree
famous warrior
Read as a pet form of Louise, the meaning is the Germanic hlud, 'famous', and wig, 'war' — the same compound behind Louis and Ludwig. Read as a pet form of Lucy, it is the Latin lux, 'light'. Read as a reduplication built straight from the sound, it means nothing at all, which is also a legitimate answer.
How the name formed
- Hludwig
- Louise
- Lulu
Related forms: Loulou · Lulu · Lulu
Pronouncing Lulu
LOO-loo
Two identical syllables, stress on the first. The Arabic word lulu, meaning pearl, is spelled and said the same way by coincidence rather than descent.
Nicknames for Lulu
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
- 1886376 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #76reached in 1881
- Change vs 2022
- −21.9%50 in 2025, from 64
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.
Lulu in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Loulou in French — spelling variant
- Lulu in German — same name
- Lulu in Arabic — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Lulus among us
people named Lulu are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 32,145 born in 2025 was named Lulu
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Lulu 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 Lulu is headed
Lulu should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium 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.
Lulu beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Lulu in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Louise and Lucy are both available behind it as formal forms with deep documented use.
- It is one of the easiest names in the world for a small child to say.
- It works in French, German, English and Arabic-speaking contexts without adjustment.
- Reduplicated names read as affectionate rather than formal, and that does not change with age.
- The English noun — a lulu, meaning something outstanding or absurd — is still in use.
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What they receive
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Lulu
Feminine · #3167 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Lulus are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,100 people named Lulu are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lulu in 2025?
- Lulu ranks #3167 among US girl names in 2025, with 50 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Lulu?
- About 1 in every 32,145 US girls born in 2025 was named Lulu — 50 in all.
- Will my child share the name Lulu with classmates?
- Lulu will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Lulu
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jozie#3167 · Irma#3167 · Lucina#3167 · Skylee#3167 · Amairani#3167 · Jorja#3167 · Leyna#3167 · Myka#3167
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Lulu? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Lulu and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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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