Lulu
A diminutive form of Louise or Louisa, meaning "famous warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 1,961 living Americans carry the first name Lulu. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lulu today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lulu births was 1886 (376 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lulu. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Lulu with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.0K
~ 1 in 174,785 Americans
Peak year
1886
376 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,464
Tracked since 1880
Census
Lulu in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,958 people with the first name Lulu, which placed it at #4,634 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
#4,634
National first-name rank
People counted
4.0K
3,958 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
37.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lulu
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lulu is White at 37.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (28.6%) and Hispanic (19.5%). 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 Lulu 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 Lulu at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White37.6% · 1,489
- Asian and Pacific Islander28.6% · 1,133
- Hispanic or Latino19.5% · 773
- Black or African American9.1% · 359
- Two or more races4.2% · 166
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 38
Popularity
Lulu: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lulu from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1880s, with 3,253 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1880s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lulu 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 Lulu during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lulus live
The SSA's state-level files cover 31 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, California recorded the most babies named Lulu, while South Dakota, Oregon, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 73 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lulu
The name Lulu has its origins in the French language, originating as a diminutive or pet form of the name Louise. The name Louise itself derives from the Germanic name Hlodvig, which was composed of the elements hlud (meaning "famous") and wig (meaning "battle" or "warrior").
Initially, Lulu was likely used as a shortened and affectionate version of Louise, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries. The name gained popularity in its own right and became a distinct given name, especially in English-speaking countries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lulu can be found in the ancient Greek play "The Clouds" by Aristophanes, written in 423 BC. In the play, the character Strepsiades refers to a woman named Lulu, suggesting the name's use in ancient Greece.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Lulu. One of the most famous was Lulu (c. 1868–1913), an American circus performer and sideshow entertainer known as the "African Elephant Girl." She was born with a rare condition called dermatosis histrionica, which caused her skin to become thick and grayish in appearance.
Another notable Lulu was Lulu White (1868–1949), an American vaudeville performer and actress who appeared in several silent films during the early 20th century. She was known for her comedic roles and her ability to perform a "split kick" while wearing a full-length dress.
In the literary world, Lulu was the name of the central character in the two plays "Earth Spirit" and "Pandora's Box" by German playwright Frank Wedekind (1864–1918). These plays, written in the early 20th century, explored themes of feminism, sexuality, and societal norms.
Another notable Lulu was Lulu Stafford (1929–2010), an American stage and television actress best known for her roles in the soap operas "General Hospital" and "The Doctors." She had a successful career spanning over six decades in the entertainment industry.
Finally, Lulu Kennedy-Cairns (born 1948), better known as Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the 1960s with her hit single "Shout" and has had a long-lasting career in the music industry, receiving numerous awards and honors.
People
Lulu + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lulu 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
Lulu: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lulu?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,961 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lulu 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 174,785 US residents.
Is Lulu a common name?
We classify Lulu as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12,656 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lulu most popular?
The single biggest year for Lulu was 1886, when 376 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lulu is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lulu in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,958 people with the name Lulu, or 1.31 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,634 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 Lulu 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 Lulu?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lulu leans strongly female. 3,878 people counted with this name were female (98.1%), compared with 77 male bearers (1.9%). 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 Lulu?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lulu is White at 37.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (28.6%) and Hispanic (19.5%). 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 Lulu most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lulu in the 2020 Census, accounting for 37.6% (1,489 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 Lulu in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lulu a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lulu 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 Lulu still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lulu 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 Lulu 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 named Lulu?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.