Louann
A feminine name of French origin meaning "a laurel".
Name Census estimates that about 3,466 living Americans carry the first name Louann. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Louann today is around 63 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Louann births was 1953 (273 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Louann. 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.
People living today
3.5K
~ 1 in 98,890 Americans
Peak year
1953
273 babies that year
Average age
63
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,490
Tracked since 1921
Census
Louann in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,436 people with the first name Louann, which placed it at #2,764 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#2,764
National first-name rank
People counted
8.4K
8,436 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
90.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Louann
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Louann is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Black (2.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Louann described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Louann at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.2% · 7,606
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 261
- Black or African American2.5% · 213
- Two or more races2.2% · 189
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 97
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 70
Popularity
Louann: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Louann from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 1,739 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Louann 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 Louann during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Louanns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 24 states and territories. Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan recorded the most babies named Louann, while South Dakota, Oklahoma, North Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 111 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Louann
The name Louann is a combination of two distinct names: Lou and Ann. The first part, Lou, is a shortened form of the French name Louis, which derives from the Old Frankish Chlodovech or Chlodovechus. This name is believed to be derived from the Germanic elements "hlud" meaning "famous" and "wig" meaning "battle" or "warrior."
Ann, on the other hand, is a variation of the Hebrew name Hannah, which means "grace" or "favor." It is a name with biblical origins, as Hannah was the mother of the prophet Samuel in the Old Testament. The combination of these two names, Lou and Ann, creates a unique and melodic name with a rich cultural heritage.
While the exact origin of the combined name Louann is uncertain, it is believed to have emerged in the early 20th century as a popular American name. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Louann can be found in the 1910 United States Census, where a few individuals were listed with this name.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Louann. One of the earliest was Louann Vaughn (1923-1992), an American actress and dancer who appeared in numerous films and television shows during the mid-20th century. Another notable Louann was Louann Woodward (1923-2018), an American actress and singer who starred in several Broadway productions and films.
In the realm of literature, Louann Gaeddert (1935-2010) was a notable American author and poet who published several collections of poetry and prose. Additionally, Louann Brizendine (born 1952) is an American neuropsychiatrist and author best known for her book "The Female Brain."
One of the most recent notable individuals with the name Louann is Louann Woodward (born 1944), an American actress and director who has appeared in numerous television shows and films, including "The Waltons" and "The Gilmore Girls."
While the name Louann may not have the same historical prominence as some other names, it carries a unique blend of cultural influences and has been borne by individuals who have made significant contributions in various fields throughout the 20th century.
People
Louann + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Louann 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
Louann: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Louann?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,466 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Louann 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 98,890 US residents.
Is Louann a common name?
We classify Louann as "Rare". It ranks above 95.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,187 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Louann most popular?
The single biggest year for Louann was 1953, when 273 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Louann is about 63 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Louann in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,436 people with the name Louann, or 2.79 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,764 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Louann in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Louann?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Louann appears almost entirely female. Of the 8,434 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Louann?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Louann is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Black (2.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Louann most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Louann in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (7,606 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Louann in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Louann a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Louann 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.
Is Louann still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Louann in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Louann can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people are called Louann?
You can see how many Americans are named Louann on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.