Explore the Family Name Louis

The meaning of Louis

1. French, Walloon, West Indian (mainly Haiti), and German: from the French personal name Louis, derived from an ancient Germanic name (the name of the founder of the Frankish dynasty) composed of the elements hlod ‘fame’ + wīg ‘war’. This is recorded in Latin chronicles as Ludovicus (see Ludwig), and Chlodovechus, which became Old French Clovis, Louis, a name borne by many French kings. Louis IX (1214–70), a king of France from 1226–70, is revered as a Catholic and Anglican saint; the cities of St. Louis in MO, St. Louis in MI, San Luis in AR, and San Luis in CO are among the many places called after thim. This surname is by far most common in Haiti. Compare Lewis. 2. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surnames 雷(see Lei 1) and 盧 (see Lu 1). History: This surname (see 1 above) is listed along with its altered form Lewis in the (US) National Huguenot Society’s register of qualified Huguenot ancestors. Some characteristic forenames: French Pierre, Andre, Antoine, Francois, Jacques, Jean Claude, Michel, Jean Robert, Ghislaine, Jeannot, Mireille, Raoul.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Louis in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Louis has increased over time. In 2000, it ranked 1771 in terms of popularity amongst other surnames, but by 2010, it had risen to rank 1510. This represents a notable increase of 14.74%. Furthermore, the count of individuals possessing this surname also grew from 18,552 in 2000 to 23,738 in 2010, marking a substantial growth of 27.95%. The presence of this surname per 100k people also rose by 17.01% during this period.

20002010Change
Rank#1,771#1,51014.74%
Count18,55223,73827.95%
Proportion per 100k6.888.0517.01%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Louis

In relation to ethnicity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals some significant shifts between 2000 and 2010. The majority of those with the surname Louis identified as Black, increasing from 57.08% in 2000 to 65.50% in 2010. The Hispanic population with this surname also saw a slight increase of 6.15%. However, there were declines among other ethnic groups. Individuals who identified as White decreased from 28.37% to 23.42%, while the number of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander fell by 3.57%. Those claiming two or more races dropped significantly by 52.80%, and the American Indian and Alaskan Native group saw a decrease of 14.89%.

20002010Change
Black57.08%65.5%14.75%
White28.37%23.42%-17.45%
Hispanic3.9%4.14%6.15%
Two or More Races6.44%3.04%-52.8%
Asian/Pacific Islander2.8%2.7%-3.57%
American Indian and Alaskan Native1.41%1.2%-14.89%

Louis ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Louis is British & Irish, which comprises 23.4% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (19.0%) and Nigerian (11.0%). Additional ancestries include Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean, Angolan & Congolese, Ashkenazi Jewish, Spanish & Portuguese, and Eastern European.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish23.4%
French & German19.0%
Nigerian11.0%
Other46.6%
Louis

Possible origins of the surname Louis

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Louis have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Greater London, United Kingdom39.30%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom39.00%
Merseyside, United Kingdom39.00%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom39.00%
West Midlands, United Kingdom38.70%

What Louis haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Louis is E-M4254, which is predominantly found among people with Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Haplogroup E-M4254 is descended from haplogroup E-M96. Other common haplogroups include E-U290 and E-P252, which are predominantly found among people with Sub-Saharan African and Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Joseph, Charles, Banks, Johnson, Jackson, Brown, Robinson, Smith, Green, Cooper.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Louis surname are: M, H1, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

louisPaternal Haplogroup Origins E-M96
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to Ramesses III

Pharaoh Ramesses III defended Egypt in three consecutive wars during his approximately 30-year reign, but provoked dissent within his administration. Catalyzed by mounting internal strife, one of Ramesses's lesser wives, Tiye, hatched a plot to have her son, Pentawer, usurp the throne by having Ramesses III murdered along with his appointed heir. A papyrus record of the resulting trial explains that the plot failed and that all involved were tried and convicted.However, a modern CT scan of Ramesses III's mummy revealed a deep slit in his throat, reopening a case long thought closed. The embalmers went to great lengths to cover up other wounds, including fashioning a fake toe out of resin where Ramesses's real one had been hacked off, likely during a fatal attack. For thousands of years, Ramesses's burial adornments concealed the wounds that mark one of the most famous royal dramas in history. Ramesses III's paternal lineage belongs to haplogroup E-V38.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Louis have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Louis

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Louis" Surname 36.7%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Louis

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Louis" Surname 22.0%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Louis

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Louis" Surname 16.3%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Louis

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Louis" Surname 18.4%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Louis?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Louis are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%