The name Louis (through the intermediate form
Clovis) derives from the Frankish name ᚺᛚᛟᛞᛟᚹᛁᚷ (in
runic alphabet) or *Hlōdowik or *Hlōdowig (in
Latin alphabet). Traditionally, this name is considered to be composed of two elements, deriving from both
Proto-Germanic*hlūdaz ("loud, famous") and *wiganą ("to battle, to fight") respectively, resulting in the traditional practice of translating Clovis' name as meaning "famous warrior" or "famous in battle".[2]
However, scholars have pointed out that
Gregory of Tours consequently transcribes the names of various Merovingian royal names containing the first element as chlodo-. The use of a
close-mid back protruded vowel (o), rather than the expected
close back rounded vowel (u) which Gregory does use in various other Germanic names (i.e.
Fredegundis,
Arnulfus,
Gundobadus, etc.) opens up the possibility that the first element instead derives from
Proto-Germanic*hlutą ("lot, share, portion"), giving the meaning of the name as "loot bringer" or "plunder (bringing) warrior". This hypothesis is supported by the fact that if the first element is taken to mean "famous", then the name of
Chlodomer (one of Clovis' sons) would contain two elements (*hlūdaz and *mērijaz) both meaning "famous", which would be highly uncommon within the typical
Germanic name structure.[3][4]
Louis II of Etruria, King from 1803–1807, also Duke of Lucca (1824–1847) and Duke of Parma (1847–1849)
Kings of Holland
Louis I Bonaparte, King of Holland from 1806 to 1810
Louis II Bonaparte, King of Holland in 1810, also Grand Duke of Berg
Kings of Hungary
Louis the Great, (Louis I of Hungary) Apostolic King of Hungary, Dalmatia, Croatia, Rama, Serbia, Galicia, Lodomeria, Jerusalem and Sicily from 1342, King of Poland from 1370
Louis Botha (1862–1919), South African politician, first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, one of the principal commanders of the Second Boer War
Louis Zamperini (1917–2014), American World War II veteran, Christian evangelist and an Olympic distance runner, best known for being a Japanese POW survivor.
Fictional characters
Dr. Louis Faraday, a character in the 1986 American science fiction adventure movie Flight of the Navigator
Louis, a character in the American sitcom television series Kate & Allie
Louis, a protagonist of the Japanese manga series Beastars
^M. Petrossian (ed.). New Dictionary Armenian-English. Librairie de Beyrouth.
Name list
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.
The name Louis (through the intermediate form
Clovis) derives from the Frankish name ᚺᛚᛟᛞᛟᚹᛁᚷ (in
runic alphabet) or *Hlōdowik or *Hlōdowig (in
Latin alphabet). Traditionally, this name is considered to be composed of two elements, deriving from both
Proto-Germanic*hlūdaz ("loud, famous") and *wiganą ("to battle, to fight") respectively, resulting in the traditional practice of translating Clovis' name as meaning "famous warrior" or "famous in battle".[2]
However, scholars have pointed out that
Gregory of Tours consequently transcribes the names of various Merovingian royal names containing the first element as chlodo-. The use of a
close-mid back protruded vowel (o), rather than the expected
close back rounded vowel (u) which Gregory does use in various other Germanic names (i.e.
Fredegundis,
Arnulfus,
Gundobadus, etc.) opens up the possibility that the first element instead derives from
Proto-Germanic*hlutą ("lot, share, portion"), giving the meaning of the name as "loot bringer" or "plunder (bringing) warrior". This hypothesis is supported by the fact that if the first element is taken to mean "famous", then the name of
Chlodomer (one of Clovis' sons) would contain two elements (*hlūdaz and *mērijaz) both meaning "famous", which would be highly uncommon within the typical
Germanic name structure.[3][4]
Louis II of Etruria, King from 1803–1807, also Duke of Lucca (1824–1847) and Duke of Parma (1847–1849)
Kings of Holland
Louis I Bonaparte, King of Holland from 1806 to 1810
Louis II Bonaparte, King of Holland in 1810, also Grand Duke of Berg
Kings of Hungary
Louis the Great, (Louis I of Hungary) Apostolic King of Hungary, Dalmatia, Croatia, Rama, Serbia, Galicia, Lodomeria, Jerusalem and Sicily from 1342, King of Poland from 1370
Louis Botha (1862–1919), South African politician, first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, one of the principal commanders of the Second Boer War
Louis Zamperini (1917–2014), American World War II veteran, Christian evangelist and an Olympic distance runner, best known for being a Japanese POW survivor.
Fictional characters
Dr. Louis Faraday, a character in the 1986 American science fiction adventure movie Flight of the Navigator
Louis, a character in the American sitcom television series Kate & Allie
Louis, a protagonist of the Japanese manga series Beastars
^M. Petrossian (ed.). New Dictionary Armenian-English. Librairie de Beyrouth.
Name list
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.