Lois last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Lois is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Lois.

Meaning of Lois

A French surname derived from the Latin name Ludovicus or Louis.

Lois, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Lois surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lois in America

Lois is the 29918th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lois surname appeared 785 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Lois.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lois to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 29918 30264 -1.15%
Count 785 730 7.26%
Proportion per 100k 0.27 0.27 0.00%

The history of the last name Lois

The surname LOIS originated in France, and its earliest known references date back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "l'ois," meaning "the bird." This name was likely given to someone who lived near a place frequented by birds or who had a bird-like characteristic.

The name LOIS can be traced back to various regions of France, including Normandy, Brittany, and Poitou. In the Domesday Book, a record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, there are several entries of people with variations of the name, such as "Lois" and "Loiz."

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname LOIS was Guillaume Lois, a French nobleman who lived in the 13th century. He was a prominent figure in the court of King Louis IX and participated in the Seventh Crusade in 1248.

In the 14th century, a Jacques Lois was mentioned in the records of the city of Rouen, Normandy. He was a merchant and landowner, and his name appeared in several legal documents related to property transactions.

During the Renaissance period, a notable figure was Jean Lois, a French scholar and poet born in 1525. He was known for his works on classical literature and his translations of ancient Greek texts.

Another significant figure was Marie Lois, a French noblewoman born in 1634. She was a prominent figure at the court of King Louis XIV and was known for her involvement in various cultural and artistic pursuits of the time.

In the 18th century, a prominent individual with the surname LOIS was Louis-François Lois de Bécourt, a French military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the Governor of Louisiana from 1753 to 1763 and played a crucial role in the defense of the French colony during the French and Indian War.

Throughout history, the surname LOIS has been associated with various place names and older spellings, such as Loizeau, Loizillon, and Loison, which were common in different regions of France.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lois

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Lois.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Lois was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 70.83% 556
Non-Hispanic Black Only 4.71% 37
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.76% 6
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.76% 6
Hispanic Origin 22.93% 180

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Lois has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 70.83% 68.36% 3.55%
Black 4.71% 7.12% -40.74%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.76% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.76% 2.05% -91.81%
Hispanic 22.93% 20.82% 9.65%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Lois was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Lois, please contact us.

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Lois last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on June 18, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/lois-surname-popularity/.

"Lois last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/lois-surname-popularity/. Accessed 18 June, 2025

Lois last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/lois-surname-popularity/.

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