Loys
A masculine given name derived from French form of Louis, meaning "renowned warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 24 living Americans carry the first name Loys. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 58.1% of registrations being male. The average person named Loys today is around 86 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Loys births was 1919 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Loys. 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
- • The typical person named Loys is about 86 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Loys' were born before 1950.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Loys. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
24
~ 1 in 14,281,431 Americans
Peak year
1919
28 babies that year
Average age
86
years old
1965 SSA rank
#4,243
Tracked since 1912
Census
Loys in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 164 people with the first name Loys, which placed it at #43,191 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
#43,191
National first-name rank
People counted
164
164 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Loys
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Loys is White at 75.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%). 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 Loys 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 Loys at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.6% · 124
- Black or African American15.9% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 4
- Two or more races2.4% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Loys
Loys is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 332 total registrations, 193 (58.1%) were male and 139 (41.9%) were female.
Loys as a male name
- Ranked #4,243 in 1965
- 5 male births in 1965
- Peak: 1922 (14 births)
Loys as a female name
- Ranked #6,503 in 1956
- 5 female births in 1956
- Peak: 1919 (15 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Loys on both sides of the split. Of the 164 people counted with this name, 80 were male (48.8%) and 84 were female (51.2%).
Popularity
Loys: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Loys from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 125 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
Loys 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 Loys during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Loys
The name Loys originated from the French language and culture, derived from the ancient Frankish name Chlodovech. It traces its roots back to the 5th century, during the Merovingian dynasty of the Franks. The name was later Latinized as Ludovicus, which evolved into the French form Louis.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Loys can be found in the medieval epic poem, "The Song of Roland," which dates back to the 11th century. In this literary work, the name is mentioned in reference to King Louis the Pious, the son of Charlemagne.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Loys. One of the most prominent was Loys de Laval (1411-1489), a French nobleman who served as the Governor of Champagne and played a significant role in the Hundred Years' War.
Another noteworthy individual was Loys Le Roy (1510-1577), a French mathematician and philosopher who made contributions to the fields of geometry and mechanics. His works laid the foundation for the development of modern calculus.
In the realm of art, Loys Petit (1615-1678) was a renowned French painter who specialized in portraiture and religious subjects. His works adorned the walls of several churches and palaces across France.
The name Loys also found its way into the literary world, with Loys Bourgeois (1510-1559) being a notable figure. He was a French Protestant reformer and theologian who played a crucial role in the development of the French Reformed Church.
Lastly, Loys de Blois (1506-1566) was a French Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Chartres and later became the Archbishop of Cambrai. He was actively involved in the religious conflicts of the time and played a significant role in the Council of Trent.
These historical examples showcase the enduring presence of the name Loys across various facets of society, from nobility and warfare to art, literature, and religion. Despite its ancient origins, the name has left an indelible mark on the annals of history.
People
Loys + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Loys 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
Loys: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Loys?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 24 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Loys 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 14,281,431 US residents.
Is Loys a common name?
We classify Loys as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 332 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Loys most popular?
The single biggest year for Loys was 1919, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Loys is about 86 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Loys in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 164 people with the name Loys, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,191 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 Loys 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 Loys?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Loys on both sides of the split. Of the 164 people counted with this name, 80 were male (48.8%) and 84 were female (51.2%). 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 Loys?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Loys is White at 75.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%). 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 Loys most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Loys in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.6% (124 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 Loys in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Loys a male name?
Yes, 58.1% of people registered as Loys in the SSA data are male. 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 Loys still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Loys 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 Loys 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 have Loys as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Loys on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.