Loise
A feminine name derived from the French version of Louise, meaning "renowned warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 189 living Americans carry the first name Loise. It is a predominantly female name (95.7% of registrations). The average person named Loise today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Loise births was 1922 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Loise. 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 Loise is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Loises were born before 1960.
People living today
189
~ 1 in 1,813,515 Americans
Peak year
1922
33 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1931 SSA rank
#4,103
Tracked since 1897
Census
Loise in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 611 people with the first name Loise, which placed it at #17,841 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
#17,841
National first-name rank
People counted
611
611 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
45.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Loise
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Loise is Black at 45.2%. The next largest groups are White (37.3%) and Hispanic (9.7%). 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 Loise 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 Loise at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American45.2% · 276
- White37.3% · 228
- Hispanic or Latino9.7% · 59
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 26
- Two or more races2.6% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Loise
Loise leans heavily female at 95.7% of total registrations, but 37 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Loise as a male name
- Ranked #4,103 in 1931
- 5 male births in 1931
- Peak: 1923 (8 births)
Loise as a female name
- Ranked #11,368 in 1981
- 5 female births in 1981
- Peak: 1926 (29 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Loise leans strongly female. 550 people counted with this name were female (90.2%), compared with 60 male bearers (9.8%).
Popularity
Loise: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Loise from the 1890s through to the 1980s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 249 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
Loise 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 Loise during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Loises live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas recorded the most babies named Loise, while Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Loise
The name Loise is of French origin, derived from the Old French name "Lohis" or "Loïs," which in turn comes from the Germanic name "Chlodovech" or "Hlodowig." This name was later Latinized as "Ludovicus" and evolved into the French form "Louis." The name Loise is a feminine form of this name, often used as a diminutive or variant spelling.
The name Loise gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in France and parts of Europe influenced by French culture. It was often given to girls born into noble or aristocratic families, as the name had associations with royalty and prestige due to its connection to the name Louis, which was borne by numerous French kings.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Loise can be found in the 12th century, when it was mentioned in the French epic poem "La Chanson de Roland" (The Song of Roland), which tells the story of the Battle of Roncevaux Pass during the reign of Charlemagne. In this work, a character named Loise is mentioned as the wife of one of the knights.
Throughout history, there have been several notable women named Loise. One of the most famous was Loise de Savoie (1476-1531), a French noblewoman and the second wife of Charles III, Duke of Savoy. Another notable Loise was Loise Labé (1520-1566), a celebrated French Renaissance poet and feminist writer known for her defiant and unconventional works.
In the 17th century, Loise Bourgeois (1563-1636) was a French midwife and author who wrote one of the earliest modern guides on childbirth and midwifery. Her work helped to establish midwifery as a respected profession and contributed to the advancement of women's healthcare.
Another noteworthy Loise was Loise d'Orléans (1812-1838), a French princess and member of the House of Orléans. She was the daughter of King Louis-Philippe I of France and is remembered for her philanthropic efforts and her tragic early death at the age of 26.
While the name Loise was once quite popular in France and parts of Europe, it has become less common in recent centuries. However, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of French names and serves as a reminder of the cultural and historical significance of names in shaping identity and preserving heritage.
People
Loise + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Loise 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
Loise: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Loise?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 189 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Loise 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 1,813,515 US residents.
Is Loise a common name?
We classify Loise as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 855 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Loise most popular?
The single biggest year for Loise was 1922, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Loise is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Loise in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 611 people with the name Loise, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,841 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 Loise 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 Loise?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Loise leans strongly female. 550 people counted with this name were female (90.2%), compared with 60 male bearers (9.8%). 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 Loise?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Loise is Black at 45.2%. The next largest groups are White (37.3%) and Hispanic (9.7%). 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 Loise most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Loise in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.2% (276 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 Loise in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Loise a female name?
Yes, 95.7% of people registered as Loise 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 Loise still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Loise 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 Loise 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 Loise as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.