Louis
A surname taken from the French personal name Louis, ultimately meaning “famous warrior.”
The #1,510 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 13,006 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally understood as coming from the French personal name Louis. That given name goes back through Latin Ludovicus to an older Germanic form built from elements meaning “fame” and “battle,” so the underlying sense is “famous warrior.” In surname use, Louis is therefore usually a patronymic surname formed from a given name rather than a place-name or occupational term.
History
The name became established in England and other English-speaking areas through French influence, especially after the Norman period, and it also appears in families with French or Francophone ancestry. In older surname dictionaries it is often treated alongside Lewis as a related form, though Lewis has a broader and more complicated history. In modern usage, Louis can be either a hereditary surname from a French ancestor’s given name or, in some cases, a direct adoption of the personal name as a family name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The royal name Louis and the German name Ludwig are linguistic cousins, both going back to the same old Germanic roots.
From the historical record
“tershire. LOUIS. The personal name, LOUNDE. See Lowndes. LOVAINE. LOUVAINE. LOYEYNE. A celebrated city of the Netherlands. LOV AT. A hamlet in Liverness- shire. LOVE. This name relates not to the tender passion, but is an old modification”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom