Louise (given name)

Louise
Pronunciation	/luˈiːz/ loo-EEZ
Gender	Female
Origin
Word/name	German, French
Meaning	"Famous warrior/Long held"
Other names
Nickname(s)	Lou, Louie
Related names	Eloise, Aloisia, Louisa, Luisa, Luiza

Louise and Luise are, respectively, French and German feminine forms of Louis. Louise has been regularly used as a female name in English speaking countries since the middle of the 19th century. It has ranked among the top 100 names given to girls in France, England, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden and Wales in recent years. It last ranked among the top 1,000 first names for girls born in the United States in 1991, but remains a more common middle name.

Feminine variants

Aloisia German, Italian, Spanish
Aloisie Czech
Alojza Polish
Alojzia Hungarian, Slovak
Alojzija Slovene
Heloísa Portuguese
Liudvika Lithuanian
Lluïsa Catalan
Loes Dutch
Lou English, French
Louella English
Louisa English
Louise Danish, Dutch, English, French, Norwegian, Swedish
Louiza (Λουίζα) Greek
Lova Swedish
Liisa Finnish, Estonian
Loviisa Finnish
Loviise Estonian
Lovisa Swedish
Lovise Danish, Norwegian
Lu English
Luann English
Luana English, Portuguese
Luanne English
Ludovica Italian, Latin
Ludwika Polish
Luella English
Luigia Italian
Luigina Italian
Luísa Portuguese
Luisa Italian, Spanish, Estonian
Luise German, Estonian
Luisella Italian
Luiza Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian (Луиза), Albanian
Luīze Latvian
Lujza Hungarian, Slovak
Lula English
Lulu English, German
Ruiha Māori

Notable people

Arts

Louise Blanchard Bethune, architect
Louise Bourgeois, French sculptor
Louise Murray (1854 – 1931), American local historian and museum director
Louise Nevelson, American sculptor

Entertainment

Louise Beavers, African-American film and television actress
Louise Brealey, English actress
Louise Brooks, American silent film actress
Madonna Louise Ciccone, American singer
Jenna-Louise Coleman, British actress
Louise Fletcher, American actress
Luise Gruber, Austrian blues singer-songwriter, professionally known as Saint Lu
Louise Harman, real name of Lady Sovereign (born 1985), British rapper
Louise Harrison, British actress
Louise Jameson, British actress
Louise Lasser, American actress
Louise Michaëli, opera singer
Louise Plowright, British actress
Luise Rainer, German-Austrian-American actress
Louise Redknapp, British singer
Mary-Louise Parker, American actress
Louise Bourgoin, French actress

Literature

Luise Aston, German author
Louise Bogan, American poet
Louise Cooper, British writer
Louise Erdrich, American novelist and poet
Louise Flodin, Swedish journalist and publisher
Luise Gottsched, German poet, playwright, essayist, and translator
Louise Hay, American motivational author and publisher
Luise Hensel, German religious author and poet
Louise Manning Hodgkins, American educator, author, editor
Louise Herschman Mannheimer, Czech-American writer, poet, school founder, inventor
Louise Markscheffel, American journalist, editor, critic
Louise Chandler Moulton, American poet, story-writer, critic
Luise von Ploennies, German poet
Louise Hammond Willis Snead, American writer, lecturer, artist

Royalty

Marie Luise von Degenfeld, countess
Louise of Hesse-Kassel (1817–1898), queen consort to Christian IX of Denmark
Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the Queen of Prussia (1776–1810)
Louise Mountbatten, the Queen of Sweden
Louise of Savoy, regent of France (1476–1531)
Archduchess Luise, Princess of Tuscany, the daughter of Ferdinand IV of Tuscany and his second wife Alicia of Parma
Lady Louise Windsor, youngest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, daughter of her youngest son Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and his wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex
Märtha Louise of Norway (1971–), Princess.

Sports

Louise Brough, American tennis player
Louise Carroll, Scottish field hockey defender
Luise Krüger, German athlete who competed mainly in the javelin
Louise Miller, English high jumper
Louise Mitchell, Australian swimmer
Louise Munn, Scottish field hockey defender
Louise Sauvage, Paralympian (Olympian in the Paralympics)
Louise Vanhille, French gymnast

Other

Louise Alley, American radio personality and advertising executive
Louise Arbour, Canadian judge and diplomat
Martha Louise Black, Canadian MP
Louise Brown, first human to be born after in vitro fertilisation
Louise Charron, Canadian judge
Louise Feltham, Canadian MP
Louise Hardy, Canadian MP
Louise Jensen, Danish murder victim
Louise de Marillac, co-founder of the Daughters of Charity and Roman Catholic saint
Louise O'Sullivan (born 1973), Irish telecommunications executive
Louise Pedersen (model), Danish model
Louise Thibault, Canadian MP

Fictional character

Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière (named after Louise de la Vallière), female protagonist in the light novel, anime, and manga series Zero no Tsukaima
Louise the Lady of Violets, wife of the sage Lord Pent and a character in Fire Emblem (video game)
Louise Halevy, supporting character from the Gundam 00 franchise
Louise Jefferson (nicknamed "Weezie"), neighbor of Archie Bunker in All in the Family and a main character in the spin-off The Jeffersons
Louise Mallard, main character from "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin
Louise Brooks, one of the main characters in the BBC sitcom Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
Louise Sidell, the title character's closest friend in the Penny Parker books
Louise Belcher, one of the main characters in animated sitcom Bob's Burgers
Louise Grimsley Capice, long running character in the crime/mystery serial The Edge of Night

Songs

"Louise" by The Yardbirds from the album Five Live Yardbirds (1964)
"Louise" by Human League from the album Hysteria
"Change in Louise" by Joe Cocker from the album With a Little Help from My Friends
"Jolie Louise" (1989) by Daniel Lanois
"Louise" by Maurice Chevalier
"Louise, Louisa" by Mew from the album And the Glass Handed Kites
"Louise" by NOFX from the album Pump Up the Valuum
"Louise" by Clan of Xymox from the album Medusa
"Liza and Louise" by NOFX from the album White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean