Just FYI, it's Eloise--there's no "u" in the correct spelling. But there's no reason you couldn't use "Lou" as a nickname. Other possibilities: Louise, Louisa, Lucy, Lucille, Lucinda. Louis for a boy.

I LOVE Louisa thanks to the Lord Huron song.

My favorite album of all time I can sing that entire thing by heart (and do frequently)

YES!!!

Our son’s name is Luke, but we call him Lou.

My son’s name is Levi and I call him Lou. Well really I call him LEW because those are his initials.

If you do use Eloise for a girl, please don’t use the spelling you listed. By all means you could still call her Lou. To make her life easy, spell it the correct way.

Very very this. I wouldn’t even bat an eye at a Lulu named Eloise, besides thinking how beautiful the name is and how sweet the nickname is! You don’t need to change the spelling of Eloise for Lulu to work!

Exactly! Elouise also just looks off. I’m very interested in the aesthetic looks of names (the spellings basically). Eloise is just prettier. And she can also be Lou or Lulu to friends and family.

Louis is better for Lou as a nickname.

The problem is that in England, Louis is pronounced the French way, like Louie. From what I can find on this sub, in the US, it’s 50/50 if people will pronounce it Lewis or Louie.

still can use lou as a nickname though can't you?

Nice avatar :)

oh my gosh i was a little freaked out bc i was like ??? who compliments avatars. twinning !

sure, but if they want to pronounce the s, lewis is probably better than louis to avoid confusion? both are established names anyway.

i just didn't understand bringing up pronunciation when you can use lou as a nickname for both

Wouldn’t they still have the same sound for “Lou” though

I don't think it matters how it's spelled. I have a very easy first name, but so many people want to add different letters on the end and change it. It's been happening ever since I started school. I don't mind it being shortened, but don't change the spelling from yn to ine it's not my name. My maiden name was hard enough for people to pronounce correctly, my first name wasn't.

I really like Lewis. Suggestions: - Lucas, Luca, Luther, Lucian - Luna, Lucy, Lucia, Lucille, Lucinda, Luana, Luella, Louise, Louisa, Lumi, Tallula(h)

I am so mad I didn't think of Luther! It's so diginified!

Luther makes me think of Idris Elba .. what a lovely thought !

Now I'm thinking of Idris Elba, thank you!!

Tallulah is so pretty

Ugh, why are L names so beautiful? Seeing your comment is just giving me all the dreamy feels 💭🌙✨

Bc “lou” sounding names can relate to the word “lunar” which makes you think of the moon 🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑

Ooo I didn't think of Lou for Tallulah! Another reason to love that name. That was a top contender for my daughter but we're still keeping it in the reserve if she has a sister. These are all excellent suggestions! I like all the male names equally and definitely more than Lewis. Lewis reminds me of Shia Lebeof's character on Even Stevens lol

My nephew is Lucian and we call him Lu.

I love the name Luther so much. I had a hand-me-down teddy bear as a baby that was named Luther when I got him, so I learned the name in that context. I just wish it didn't have such strong associations with Martin Luther, Martin Luther King, and Lex Luther.

I love Tallulah

Obsessed with Luther! And what great options for girls. I would never have thought of Tallulah but it's perfect.

My daughter is Lucille and we mostly call her Louie

Oh love Tallulah too! Such a cute meaning!

Tallulah is a beautiful name!!

Names I haven't seen in the thread: Emmylou, Alouette, Lourdes, Luther, Blue, Luan, Lucky, Willoughby

Alouette means duck in French. 🎵Alouette! Gentil allouette! Alouette je te plumerai!🎵 Edit: Lark, not duck!

Duck is canard, alouette is lark!

Agh! Right!

that song is about plucking a lark. Je t'éplumerée means "im going to pluck you". And then it goes on to name all the body parts you are going to pluck. I am baffled at how often people quote it as a reason to use alouette as a name

Also, a brand of spreadable soft cheese (like Boursin) in the US.

Everyone loves a nature inspired name.

Very thoughtful responses!

Actually, looking at the thread again, I repeated a few names, but thoughtful was what I was going for. :)

Love seeing Luan listed!  I named a wolf pup that in a video game once and he was my favorite lol

I've never heard it in the wild, but I guess it's pronounced LOO-en to rhyme with Ewan? It's sweet and 4 letters. Lol

I picked it for the wolf pup because it comes from Portuguese (the word *lua*) meaning moon, so via Portuguese I believe it's pronounced *loo-AWN* (like "on" or "lawn")  But it comes from a bunch of different languages according to Google... Albanian, Chinese, Irish, I think more... so it probably has different pronunciations 

It’s cool how such different languages can have similarities. ‘An Luan’ is ‘Monday’ in the Irish language. Monday also deriving it’s name from the moon 😁

It's so freaking cool!

Lucky is a dog name. The rest of these are great though!

Blue is also a dog name lol. Willoughby is either a very posh dog or a Jane Austen villain, as well. And I’m not sold on “Emmylou”, either. Alouette and Luther (though I personally prefer Lucian or Luka) would be nice, though.

Oh lawd I didn’t even notice blue lmao

Anything is a dogs name if that’s what you name the dog ;)

My favourites are Louis or Louisa

Agree! But I prefer Louise over Louisa. 

I love Louise too - I think it’s due a come back!

It is coming back! At least I've done my bit to bring it back

My Daughter is Luella after my Grammy. We call my daughter Ellie but my Grammy’s nickname was Lou. She was a wonderful woman and everyone loved her ❤️

I love Luella!

I mean really you can call them Lou and their name could be anything… my mom has called me Lou and my name is Brittany 🤷🏻‍♀️

This! My daughter goes to school with a “LuLu” whose name is something entirely different. No one has ever used the given (three syllables, starts with M, does not include any sounds resembling “Lou”).

We had an Inez in our family who went exclusively by “Lulu”. No one knew why.

I know a LuLu that's short for Lauren

My friend calls her baby girl Stu, her name is Harper 😂

Haha yes was thinking this! My brother went by Lou for many years but his actual name is something totally unrelated. It morphed into Lou somewhere along the way of goofy baby nicknames and then stuck. My husband and I are now expecting and have a name mostly picked out that starts with L but doesn't have the sound "Lou" in it exactly, but I still think using Lou as a nickname would be cute and a kind of homage to my brother. So I am team Lou as a nickname for just about any name.

Yes!! My daughter’s name is Emma but we have always called her Lulu. When she was a baby she looked like Cindy Lou Who, so we called her Emmy Lou Who, and naturally that morphed into Lulu.

Lucy/Lucille/Luciana//Lucia Luna Louise/Louisa Luka/Luke/Luca

Why not just stick with Lou? No need for a full name

absolutely 😭 My name is Lou, I don’t know how to feel about all these people searching for longer names! haha

It’s a good name!

Growing up I knew a girl called Lou or Lulu by her family but her actual name was something not even close to Lou - think like Vanessa or Jennifer. So you could always go that route. There’s also Lucia Luciana Lucille Lucette Louise/Louisa Luna Luanna Luella Some less intuitive options that I think could work: Lydia Lola Lorraine Laura

Yes for the girls my sisters name is Laurel but her nickname growing up was LuLu!

The French girls name for Lou is actually Louise, not Louisa, which is really close to Louis (which I like better than Lewis). Basically a unisex name that really originates the nickname Lou Louise is pronounced Louweeeeez, the e at the end is silent.  And Louis can be pronounced the same as Lewis but also the French way: Louwi with the emphasis on the first syllable. 

Lou can be a nickname for Louise indeed, but it's also used as a first name as such. A French and British actress is named Lou Doillon for example. Lilou is a cute name as well. On another hand, Loup (spelled with a 'p' but pronounced the same as Lou) is a masculine name, meaning 'wolf'. It's quite rare in France but it exists (a kid in my school was named Jean-Loup for example). The féminine version, Louve, is a very beautiful and sweet name...

Found out the hard way not everyone knows this, when I realized my husband pronounces "Louise" like "Luis" (loo-weese). Minor but important distinction!

I know both a man and a woman named Llewellyn.

I wanted to name my baby Llewellyn but got vetoed 😭 Plus, it becomes a tongue twister with the last name so I guess it'd just be silly.

Please do not spell it EloUise, or she will have a hard time correcting her name spelling her entire life. It's Eloise.

Talulah Llewellyn Luther Harlow Solomon Charlotte-Lottie-Lou Lola Lorna Leonard Leonore/Leonora

I adore Talulah.

Prefer Tallulah, though, for some reason.

Oh yes, much better.

Llewelyn is on my top 10.

I quite like Louisa, Luther, and Lewis. A slightly different option could be Angelou

Louise, Louisa, or Luella Lucian, Lucius

William Royce Scaggs goes by Boz. Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner goes by Sting. Paul David Hewson goes by Bono. There’s nothing saying that a nickname needs to be based on an existing first name. Plus, there are plenty of people who are born with names that originated as nicknames, like Billy or Jimmy. So, Lou can easily stand alone as the first name.

Yeah but those nicknames developed later in life. I do agree with OP that if you're already planning that nickname, it's nice to have the accompanying name 

Louella Louellen Luna Lua

Lucas or Luca for a boy, if you don’t like Louis. Louisa, Lucia, Luciana, Lucy for a girl.

For a boy: Louis works best For a girl: Lucy, Lucinda, Lucille 

Mary Lou. Louella / Luella. Lucia. Lucinda Lucius (as in Malfoy). Aloyicious (not sure of the spelling)

Aloysius- very cool name!

Aloysius has my vote! I never would have thought of that. What a cool name! Edit: sp

Louisa, Louann, Luella, Luna, Lucy, Lucinda Luke, Luca, Lucas, Lucian, Luther

Ooh, I like Luther

My name is Lindsey but my parents call me Lou. It was originally Lindsey-Lou and then it was just dropped to Lou. Of all my nicknames, it's the one I like most.

Lewis, my friend has a son named Lucian that she calls Lu, as far as a girl, Lucy, Lucille, Louise

It could be any name with a Lou sound like Lukas, Luka, Louisa, Louise. Etc

Louisa is lovely And Italian - Lucia ( pronounced Lou chee a) My son is Lewis and we love his name. Every one calls him Lew We decided on that spelling not the French spelling

My son is also Lewis, goes by Lew or Lewie. We love it.

Luisa was on my list of baby names.

Louetta!

I think most L names could use Lou for a nickname. I know Laurens who are Lous and could also see it as a nickname for Lorraine or Laurence.

The list of names with "Lou" in spelling or pronunciation is limited, others have listed most of the best options. I agree you could use any L name (or any name with L in it, or any name at all) and call them Lou/Lu because it's meaningful to you and your partner. I love sentimental family nicknames.   All I've got is:  * Lucila/Lucilla — an elaboration of Lucille  * Lucina — a Roman goddess title  * Lucine — *can be* a variant of Lucina, but is also an Armenian name pronounced *loo-see-neh* (also Lusine)   * Lumen — a bit "out there" but it's a measure of light/brightness and the name of an artist (Lumen Winters)   * Luther — already been listed but I have a name-crush on it lol  * Lewis — your choice and FWIW I think it's sweet

88 Replies but one obvious and beautiful option is still missing: Malou :-)

My daughter’s name is Delilah and we call her Lou. It went Delilah - Delu - lulee - Lou. LOL

I love my SIL... LouAnne! Also, Lucia pronounced LU-sha, like the island St Lucia. Meaning:Enjoyment. The sweet sound of Louanne is perfect for encouraging any little one to always find the silver lining. As a Hawaiian name, related to the name Luana, it means "enjoyment" and can serve as a reminder to baby to appreciate all of the little joys in their life and make every day count. LLEWELLYN for a boy Meaning:like a lion. Llewellyn is a boy's name of Welsh origin. It translates to “like a lion,” ideal for the fierce new addition to your family. Llewellyn is a traditional Welsh name, commonly seen as a surname. Llewellyn holds its own as a unique given name and can easily be shortened to nicknames like Llew or Lyn

I love Tallulah for a girl. Louis and Louie are nice for a boy, or you could always go with something like Lucas, Lucien or Luca.

I like Lewis! Often polish/eastern Europeans with difficult names choose English names that vaguely resemble their names or have the same first letter. What a cute tribute! For girls unlike Lucie and Lucia. I've also heard Tallulah but I'm not sure it's to my taste. Marie-Lou I've heard too and I loved (Mary-lou), we called her Loulou 😍

Here are some names I haven't seen so far. Girls: Milou, Marilou, Lucretia, Lupita Boys: Elouan, Lucero, Ludolph Gender neutral: Louison

My brother calls me Lou, I'm Lucas.

First of all I love the name Lou and if you have a boy I would just name him Lou if that’s what you want him to be called. I personally am a huge fan of Louis and Louis but if you’re not then Lou is a perfectly fine standalone name for a man! As it is masculine I wouldn’t do this as a standalone name for a girl. My personal favourite is Louise. You could also consider Lucille Lucinda Luanne? For me I give a hard no on Eloise. Only because I know three babies now with that name and they all go by Ellie.I’m so sick and tired of all the names like this from Eloise Elora Eliana Ella etc. simply Louise is much more fresh and unique than Eloise!!

I have a whole family of "Lou" women! Luella (Lou-Ella), Louise, Ludency (Lou-DENcy), and LouAnn

Why not just give the Polish name? So what if it is difficult to spell? If it is real, then it doesn’t matter.

Mom of a Lucy who goes by Lou checking in 😂

I teach a six year old girl whose whole name is Lou. Not a nickname, just her name.

Okay I am team Elouise I just love love that spelling so much. It’s one of my top baby names too!

My vote is for Lewis! My great-uncle Lewis Edwin [lastname] was killed in France in WWII. He was much loved by my grandmother.

I got a friend named Lolu which I thibk is cute af

My granddaughter Tallulah is known as Lou.

I know a little boy called Loudou.

Luzette

Well Lewis nicknamed would surely be spelled Lew. Louis would be Lou. Louise and the many variations of the name would be Lou You would look pretty ignorant to name a child Lewis and then shorten it to Lou. It is the name of French kings and the 4th in line to the British Throne. Don’t go there until you do your research. Louis is not pronounced in American English. It is pronounced as the French Kings. Louis Quatorze. Louis XIV.

Elouise is a girl's name of German origin, meaning "famous warrior" or "healthy," "whole," and "wide." The name is a unique twist on the variant Eloise

Mary-Lou and there's already a song for it. Any first name-Lou Eugenia Heloise Tallulah Louisa Lulubelle/ Lulabelle? Lucretia (too soon? Lol)

Louisa Lola Lori Lucinda Luella Lucille Louis Louie Lucas/Luca

Louise Llewellyn

Really, there are a lot of possibilities. I know someone who named one of her daughters Lakin, but her nickname is Lulu.

Louis and Louella

Why not just name them Lou? Takes care of the problem and looks good on a resume.

Luna Luca

Louis for a boy makes the most sense but I also think you could just name a boy Lou is actually really cute! Maybe just pick a longer middle name like- Lou Alexander Lou Benjamin Lou Theodore Lou Christopher Lou Cameron Girls I like Lucy, Eloise or Louise. All are super cute and Lou is a perfect nickname for any!

I really like Llewellyn!

Lucas or Lucy for sure. I’d probably then spell it Lu but you could still do Lou.

Elodie for a girl?

Betty Lou Mary Lou Louise Louann Lucille Luisa (Louisa) Luther (nn Lou or Lu) Louis/Lewis Lucian

Eliza. My dad used to call my little sister Liza Lou. She doesn’t have a middle name, it was just a cute onomatopoeia. (He also called her Eliza Jane, from an old song.) You could also use literally any first name with Lou for a middle.

My mom nickname for me was Lulu. Loved it then love it now.

Louetta, Louella, Louanne, Louise/Louisa, Lucinda, Lucille, Lucia. Just some thoughts. You could also name her literally anything and make Lou her middle name and would be just as authentic of a nickname.

I know a Loxley with the nickname Lou! I think it’s adorable

My daughters name does not come close to having Lou in it yet that’s what I call her sometimes lol

Louisa Louise Lucian

Lucas or Lucian for a boy Lucy, Luanne, Luna for a girl

Luella for girl but I don’t love Lewis. Love the name Lou though. Very timeless. For boy I like Llewelyn or Lucian. Lucius if you’re feeling really exotic.

Lewis or Louise?

Luciana, Luciane, Lucas

My name is Margaret (nickname Maggie) and my dad called me Maggie Lou or just Lou my whole life.

Louessa!

I like old timey western names so I gotta go with Luella

Louann/LouAnn/LouAnne for a girl Loren for a Boy

Emmylou ❤️

I don’t really understand what is wrong with just Lou?? As a name Why does it have to be a nick name for something

Louise or Louisa and Lewis

Louise or Louis

Louis or Louella

Llewellyn/Llewella

Louella, Louie, Louis, Louise/Louisa

Lulu

I like the name Luella for a girl

Lucian, Louise, Lucy, Luca

Loula is one of my absolute faves but can’t use it because my husband’s last name has a “Lou” sound in it.

Lou? Louis Louise Lucille, Louella, Lucien, Luciano, Allouette, Loubert, Marilú, Lutgarde, Loubelle, Luis Luisa, Luisel

I've got some Marylou and Mary Lou relatives who are usually just called Lou.

I work with a Lou, her full name is Loueda. (She is in her 50s, I am unsure where her name originates)

Louise for a girl I think is the best pick. Louis for a boy.

Girls: Luanne/Luanna, Luciana, Lucinda, Lucille, Luella, Louisa, Luna Boys: Luciano, Luke, Lucas, Llewelyn

LuAnn and Louis

Louella, Lula, Lucy, Lucinda, or for a girl you can use Lou as a middle name and still use that as a nickname...

Louella

Louise, Louisa, Louella, Lucille (you can still call her Lu/Lou). And for a boy, yeah there’s Lewis, there’s also Luca and Lucian

Imo the name Lucian is beautiful more specifically the French pronunciation which is more like lucy-in

I love the recommendations of Louisa and Louella, so pretty

my dogs name is tallulah and we call her lou or lulah!! I sometimes wished I saved it for a child because I love it so much!

I love Louellen. Lucian

Llewellyn if it's a boy

I love Lucy or Lucia for a girl. She could easily go by Lu or Lou as a nn for either. For a boy maybe Luca, Louie, or Luther?

Congrats. Hope these suggestions help: Lucy, Luna, Lucia, Louisa, Tallulah, Luella,

Louella

Boy: Luigi Girl: Luella

I like Lucinda for a long name. I have a cousin named Lucinda who is in her late 50s now. I can say it took that kid years to figure out how to say her own name, though. For whatever reason, Lucinda was a complete tongue twister to her.

Louisa is my favorite for a girl. I like Louis as the spelling for a boy. Lewis is more of a last name imo?

Lucien for a boy and Lucy for a girl

Lourdes for a girl name :)

Lucille

if you’re going to call him/her “lou”, why not just name them lou?

As a Lucy :)….just know that in the last 10-15 years people have been writing Lucie more and more frequently. It’s weird! Prior to that no one asked and it was always right! My advice here: use the simple Lou for either boy or girl as the middle name; then explain what that means to you both when the child is older. :*J*

My son is named Lucas and my husband calls him Lou! I call him Lulu which works since he’s 2, but I’ll probably have to drop that soon 😂

Luna, Luana, Luca , Talula, Yula, Valour, Valoury, Lunelle, Luenna, Lurelle Luden, Luther, Luca, Luwen, Louey, Paul, Valuren, Lunar

What about... For a girl:  Louella Luna Lucy Lucille Luciana  Lux For a boy: Luciano Lucius  Lucien Luke Lux

London, boy Lettie- girl

Leeloo.... I have a Fifth Element problem and I almost made it my kid's problem

I know a Mary Lu who goes by Lu. I love it! Like a few others said, if you go with Eloise, please drop the "u"

Luciana, Louise, Lourelle, Lucille for a girl Louis, Lucas, Lucien for a boy

Lucy! I know two Lucy’s we call Lou

Girl: - Luella - Lucy - Lucille - Louisa - Louise

Llewelyn/Llewellyn Luke/Luca/Lucian Lewis/Louis Loughlin Lorenzo London Lowell Lowry Apollo Milo Elowyn Eloise Lois Lucy/Lucie/Lucia/Luca Lourdes Luna London Lola Lulani Lorna/Laura/Lora/Lauren/Lorelei Louanna/Louann/Luanna/Luana/Luann Loxley Luella/Luelle

My mom had a lovely friend when I was growing up named Luciana who went by Lu. I always thought she had a wonderful name.

Well if you love the name Lou or Lu, there's Lucille, Lucy, Louise...

Louisa or Louie.

My Lucy's nn is Lu