| Louis | Reginald | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Famous warrior | counsel-ruler |
| Origin | germanic | germanic |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | LOO-ee | REJ-ih-nuld |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 0 |
| Peak year | 1921 (7,247) | 1962 (2,647) |
| In 2025 | 1,391 | 0 |
| Trend | Rising | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Louis | Reginald |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 8,577 | 1,155 |
| 2010s | 11,815 | 3,068 |
| 2000s | 10,262 | 5,271 |
| 1990s | 14,436 | 9,724 |
| 1980s | 17,354 | 13,500 |
| 1970s | 20,145 | 17,191 |
| 1960s | 33,382 | 24,921 |
| 1950s | 47,933 | 19,338 |
| 1940s | 49,430 | 7,090 |
| 1930s | 47,754 | 3,864 |
| 1920s | 67,693 | 3,699 |
| 1910s | 50,600 | 1,929 |
| 1900s | 10,372 | 439 |
| 1890s | 8,442 | 231 |
| 1880s | 8,275 | 131 |
From the Frankish Hludwig, combining 'hlud' (famous, loud) with 'wig' (war, battle), hence 'famous in war'. Carried by 18 kings of France.
From Germanic 'ragin' ('counsel, advice') + 'wald' ('rule, power'), i.e. 'ruler by counsel' / 'counsel-power'. Note: this is 'ruler/power', NOT literally 'king'. Reynold and Ronald are closely related forms.
Louis is more popular than Reginald today: about 1,391 US babies were given the name Louis in 2025, compared with 0 named Reginald.
Louis means Famous warrior (germanic origin), while Reginald means counsel-ruler (germanic origin).
In US records, Louis first appears in 1880 and Reginald in 0, so Reginald has the longer recorded history.