Lo

UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Short form of Lovisa

Lo has been given to 86 babies in the U.S. since 1920. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1935, with 6 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 62% girls, 38% boys all-time.

Babies named Lo, 2023

1 in 663,000

Lo over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Lo over time

In 2023, Lo went to 100% girls and 0% boys.

19202023

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Lo: meaning, origin, and history

Short form of Lovisa

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Lo means

Lo is a short form of Lovisa.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Lo is used in Swedish.

Another recorded pronunciation is /ˈluː/ for Lo.

Meaning behind the documented name family

The name developed through Lo → Lovisa → Louise → Louise → Louis. The family’s meaning is “loud, famous + battle”, recorded in French with the source elements hlūdaz and wīgą.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Lovisa.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 53 girls were recorded with the name Lo between 1920 and 2023. Its highest annual count was 6 in 1935; its best national rank was #4,018 in 1935.

In the United States, 33 boys were recorded with the name Lo between 1982 and 1997. Its highest annual count was 7 in 1987; its best national rank was #5,841 in 1987.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Lo?

Lo had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 2023, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 2023: 1 in 663,000; 5 of 3,314,783 births
Among girls only: 1 in 321,000; <0.01% of girls
Rank, 2023: Unranked; Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size: 459,528 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Lo sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2023 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 459,528 children born in 2023 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Lo. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Los were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Lo was born before 1957 — so the typical Lo is around 68 today.

Median birth year: 1957; About 68 years old
Biggest decade: 2020s; 39.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 49.1%; Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950: 32; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

2020s — 39.6% of all recorded uses (21).

Is Lo rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: —; Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago: New entry; Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 0%; Peak was 1935 (6)
Years since peak: 90; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Shifting; 14.2% average annual change
Best rank ever: #4,018; 1935

Where Lo is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Lo was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — boys, against 1 in 2,905,450 across all states with data.

00 per 100,000

State popularity map

Most concentrated

1California1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Lo has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Lo by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #4,018; 1935
Peak year: 1935; 6 that year
First recorded: 1920
Last recorded: 2023
All-time count: 53
Count in 2025: Under 5

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #5,841; 1987
Peak year: 1987; 7 that year
First recorded: 1982
Last recorded: 1997
All-time count: 33
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Lo

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Lolo Lowe Loah Loki Lotti Loza Lowyn Lozen Loana Lotte Lovee Lon Loey Kylo Loyd Loany Lovisa Clo Louna Loi Lolani Loice Lojain Lonny

Sibling names for Lo

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Shirlee Marlyn Claudette Marlys Jimmie Pearlie Beverley Bettye

For a brother

Huey Shirley Boyce Arlen Rayford Delano Talmadge Franklyn

Explore around Lo

Top names of 1935, Lo's peak year The 1930s in full Other names that peaked in 1935 Girls' names starting with L