Lois
Feminine name of French origin meaning "renowned battle-maiden".
Name Census estimates that about 83,078 living Americans carry the first name Lois. It is a predominantly female name (99.2% of registrations). The average person named Lois today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lois births was 1927 (10,587 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lois. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Although Lois is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 2,644 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • The typical person named Lois is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Lois' were born before 1962.
- • Compared to the 1920s, recent registration numbers for Lois have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
83K
~ 1 in 4,126 Americans
Peak year
1927
10,587 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
2021 SSA rank
#1,698
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Lois
Out of the 335,474 babies given the name Lois since 1880, 99.2% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Lois as a male name
- Ranked #11,587 in 2021
- 6 male births in 2021
- Peak: 1932 (88 births)
Lois as a female name
- Ranked #1,698 in 2024
- 120 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1927 (10,505 births)
Popularity
Lois: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lois from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 88,830 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lois by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Lois during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lois' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio recorded the most babies named Lois, while Alaska, Nevada, Hawaii recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6,244 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lois
The name Lois originated from the French language and is derived from the Germanic name Lodis or Lodewijc. It is a feminine form of the masculine name Louis, which can be traced back to the Old Frankish Hlodowig, where "hlod" means "famous" and "wig" means "warrior" or "battle." Hence, the name Lois carries the meaning "famous warrior" or "famous in battle."
Lois has been a popular name throughout history, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the Middle Ages. It was particularly common among the French nobility and was used by several prominent figures in French history. One notable example is Lois de Bourbon, the daughter of Robert de France, who lived in the 13th century.
In the realm of literature, the name Lois appears in several works from the 16th and 17th centuries, such as the plays of William Shakespeare and the poetry of John Milton. However, it is worth noting that during this time, the spelling of the name often varied, with variations like Loyse and Loyce being used.
Moving into the modern era, several notable women have borne the name Lois. One of the most famous is Lois Lane, the love interest of the fictional character Superman, first introduced in the comic books of the 1930s. In the world of politics, Lois Capps served as a United States Representative from California from 1998 to 2017.
Other notable figures with the name Lois include:
1. Lois Mailou Jones (1905-1998), an influential African American artist and teacher.
2. Lois Lowry (born 1937), an acclaimed American writer best known for her novel "The Giver."
3. Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949), an American author of science fiction and fantasy novels.
4. Lois Maxwell (1927-2007), a Canadian actress best known for portraying Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond film series.
5. Lois Wilson (1894-1988), an American actress and one of the most prominent leading ladies of the silent film era.
Throughout its history, the name Lois has maintained a distinct charm and elegance, reflecting its roots in the language of warriors and nobility. Its enduring popularity across various cultures and eras serves as a testament to its timeless appeal.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Lois
People
Lois + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lois as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lois: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lois?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 83,078 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lois going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 4,126 US residents.
Is Lois a common name?
We classify Lois as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 335,474 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lois most popular?
The single biggest year for Lois was 1927, when 10,587 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lois is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lois a female name?
Yes, 99.2% of people registered as Lois in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.