Lou
Meaning: Its source is Hlutwig, an Ancient Germanic name meaning "Famous warrior."
Nickname For: Louis
Popularity: The name Lou ranked 1025th in popularity for males of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.
Though this name appears on the 1990 U.S. Census lists, it is used by only a small percentage of the general population.
Narrative: This name is sometimes Latinized as Clovis, and it was a Germanic tribal leader known by that name who ended the Roman domination of what is now France and established himself as king.
It is thus appropriate that sixteen kings of France bore the French form of this name, Louis.
Arts and Music
- Lou Reed (born 1944)
American singer, songwriter and musician. A member of the band The Velvet Underground.
- Musical guest on ''''Saturday Night Live'''' (see list of Musical Guests on ''Saturday Night Live'')
Miscellaneous
- Lou Wasserman
American businessman and philanthropist.
- 1995 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom (see list of Presidential Medal of Freedom Winners)
Sports
- Lou Ambers
- Member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame (see list of Old Timer inductees)
- Lou Bellisimo
- Member of the American Bowling Congress Hall of Fame (see list of American Bowling Congress Hall of Fame)
- Lou Boudreau
Baseball player.
- 1948 American League Most Valuable Player (see list of American League Most Valuable Players)
- 1944 American League Batting Champion (see list of American League Batting Champions)
- Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970 (see list of Members of the Baseball Hall of Fame)
- 1948 Associated Press Athlete of the Year (see list of Associated Press Athletes of the Year)
- Lou Brock (born 1939)
American baseball player.
- Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985 (see list of Members of the Baseball Hall of Fame)
- 1974 Sporting News Man of the Year (see list of Winners of the Sporting News Man of the Year Award)
- Lou Campi
- Member of the American Bowling Congress Hall of Fame (see list of American Bowling Congress Hall of Fame)
- Louis ''Lou'' Carnesecca
American basketball coach.
- Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992 (see list of Basketball Hall of Fame)
- Lou Creekmur
- Elected to the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1996 (see list of Professional Football Hall of Fame)
- Lou Dunbar
American basketball player.
- Harlem Globetrotter (see list of The Harlem Globetrotters)
- Lou Frantz
- Member of the Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Fame (see list of Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Fame)
- Lou Gehrig (born 1903, died 1941)
Baseball player who set a record for consecutive games played (2,130) that stood for more than 50 years. Gehrig was struck down in his prime by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a rare disease now more commonly known as Lou Gherig's Disease.
- 1927, 1936 American League Most Valuable Player (see list of American League Most Valuable Players)
- 1934 American League Batting Champion (see list of American League Batting Champions)
- Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939 (see list of Members of the Baseball Hall of Fame)
- Lou Graham
- 1975 U.S. Open golf tournament winner (see list of U.S. Open Golf Champions)
- Lou Groza
- Elected to the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1974 (see list of Professional Football Hall of Fame)
- Lou Piniella
Baseball player.
- 1969 American League Rookie of the Year (see list of American League Rookies of the Year)
- Lou Whitaker
Baseball player.
- 1978 American League Rookie of the Year (see list of American League Rookies of the Year)
- Lou Yun
Chinese athlete.
- 1984, 1988 Olympic gymnastics gold medal winner for Horse Vault (see list of Gold Medalists in Individual Gymnastics Events)
Stage and Screen
- Lou Canova
Fictional character.
- Portrayed by Nick Apollo Forte (see list of Characters in the film Broadway Danny Rose)
- Lou Costello (born 1908, died 1959)
American comedian and actor; one half of the Abbott and Costello comedy team. Original name: Louis Cristillo.
- Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television (see list of Television Personalities with Stars in the Hollywood Walk of Fame)
- Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Picture (see list of Movie Personalities with Stars in the Hollywood Walk of Fame)
- Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame for Radio (see list of Radio Personalities with Stars in the Hollywood Walk of Fame)
- Lou Frizzell
- Portrayed Dusty Rhoades from 1970-72 (see list of Actors on ''Bonanza'')
- Lou Grant
Fictional character.
- Portrayed by Edward Asner (see list of Characters on ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'')
- Lou Rawls (born 1935)
American singer.
- Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording (see list of Recording Personalites with Stars in the Hollywood Walk of Fame)
Associations:
''Loo'' is a British slang term for a toilet.
Meaning: Its source is Hlutwig, an Ancient Germanic name meaning "Famous warrior."
Nickname For: Louise
Popularity: The name Lou ranked 604th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.
Though this name has fluctuated in use, it has been quietly present throughout the last century.
Narrative: The Ancient Germanic name Hlutwig was Latinized into Ludovicus. The French shortened this to Clovis, and over time dropped the ''c'' and changed the ''v'' to a ''u.'' Voilá, Louis. In the opinion of the French, this was an excellent name for a king -- eighteen of them, in fact.
Somewhere in this progression, the feminine Latin form Louisa was changed by the French into Louise, and from the interplay of these names a bouquet of girls' names grew -- Eloise, Heloise, Eloisa, Luisa and others.
Miscellaneous
- Lou Henry Hoover (born 1875, died 1944)
- Wife of Herbert Hoover, 31st President (see list of United States First Ladies)
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