Luisa
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Meaning
famous in battle, traditionally
Also written Luísa.
The story
Luisa is the feminine of Luis, from the old Germanic Hludwig, traditionally rendered famous in battle, and Europe kept handing it to women worth painting. María Luisa de Parma wore it as queen consort of Spain, sitting for Goya in 1789; Verdi built an opera around one, Luisa Miller, premiered in Naples in 1849 from a Schiller play. The American record shows something rarer than fashion: presence in every single decade since the 1890s, never fewer than 105 girls in any of them, about 2,200 in the 2000s. Brazil is where it currently blooms: 105,342 in the 2022 census, median age thirteen, 31,643 of them born in the 2010s. A name that can wait a hundred years without fidgeting and then fill a Brazilian classroom. The battle in the etymology was apparently a siege.
Luisa across languages
One shared root links 9 names across 5 languages.
Shared root: the Germanic name represented by Ludwig, built from parts meaning "fame" and "battle"; French Louis developed through the Latin form Ludovicus
The constellation
More branches
How popular is Luisa around the world?
In the United States, 1,720 babies were named Luisa between 2020 and 2025. In Austria, 319 girls named Luisa were born in 2025, the 18th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
Luisa is on the official records of the United States, Austria, Spain, Mexico City, Brazil, Chile, Montevideo, Argentina, New Zealand, Ireland, France, Scotland, Canada, England and Wales and Poland.
United States
1 in 13,000
In the United States, 1,720 babies were named Luisa between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Luisa peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure. In US birth records Luisa has stayed between 715 and 2,246 births in every decade since the 1950s: a name everyone knows and few children get.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Austria
1 in 240
In Austria, 319 girls named Luisa were born in 2025, the 18th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Spain
1 in 1,100
In Spain, 39,170 residents are named Luisa, the 116th most common name among women, with a mean age of 67.6 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Mexico City City
1 in 1,500
In Mexico City, there were 81 registrations of Luisa in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (4 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Brazil
1 in 1,900
At the 2022 census, 105,342 people in Brazil were named Luisa, the 308th most common name, with a median age of 13.
Among people named Luisa living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 20,343 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Chile
1 in 3,800
In Chile, 47 girls were registered as Luisa in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Montevideo City
1 in 4,9002011
In Montevideo, 5 girls named Luisa were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Argentina
1 in 5,100
In Argentina, 129 newborns were given the name Luisa in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
New Zealand
1 in 5,800
In New Zealand, 10 girls named Luisa were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Ireland
1 in 7,700
In Ireland, 7 girls named Luisa were born in 2025, the 483rd most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Luisa, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
France
1 in 9,200
In France, about 70 girls named Luisa were born in 2025, the 593rd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Scotland
1 in 11,000
In Scotland, 4 girls named Luisa were registered in 2024, the 638th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Canada
1 in 17,000
In Canada, 21 girls named Luisa were born in 2024, ranked 1,191st among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 31,000
In England and Wales, 19 girls named Luisa were born in 2025, ranked 1,584th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Poland
1 in 49,000
In Poland, 5 girls named Luisa were born in 2025, the 461st most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Puerto Rico
last on record 2004
Luisa is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 36 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
South Australia
last on record 2014
Luisa is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
Keep exploring
The Luisa deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Luisa truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Luisa fits with your family’s names and surname.
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