Name Awesome

Ludwig

#7,040 in 2025Boys' name

Famed; loud, through Ludwig

Ludwig has been given to 2,696 babies in the U.S. since 1880. In 2025 it ranked #7,040 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1916, with 88 recorded.

Babies named Ludwig, 2025

1 in 276,000

Ludwig over time, 1880–2025

Boys
025507510018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Ludwig: meaning, origin, and history

Famed; loud, through Ludwig

German and Middle High German

What Ludwig means

Ludwig belongs to the name family reached through Ludwig → Ludwig. Its meaning is “famed; loud”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

Borrowed from German Ludwig, which see for more information. Doublet of Louis etc.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Ludwig (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Ludwig is used in English, German and Swedish. Its origins include German and Middle High German.

Ludwig comes through German Ludwig.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Luise, Ludvig, Louis, Lodewijk, Lewis and Ludwig.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Ludwig is pronounced /ˈludvɪɡ/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 2,696 boys were recorded with the name Ludwig between 1880 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 88 in 1916; its best national rank was #493 in 1893.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #9,223 in 2020 to #7,040 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #6,555 in 2015 to #7,040 in 2025.

How common is Ludwig?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 276,000
12 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 142,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#7,040
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
191,493 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Ludwig sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 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 191,493 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Ludwig. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Ludwigs were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Ludwig was born before 1929 — so the typical Ludwig is around 96 today.

Median birth year
1929
About 96 years old
Biggest decade
1910s
20.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
7.6%
Mostly a past generation
Recorded since 1950
758
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1910s — 20.6% of all recorded uses (555).

Is Ludwig 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
+1,055
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+2,183
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
−485
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.92×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
13.6%
Peak was 1916 (88)
Years since peak
109
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
36.0% average annual change
Best rank ever
#493
1893

Where Ludwig is used

Across 1910–2025, Ludwig was most concentrated in New York — about 1 in 33,333 boys, against 1 in 107,299 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

03 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1New York1 in 33,333
  2. 2Minnesota1 in 50,000
  3. 3North Dakota1 in 50,000
  4. 4Pennsylvania1 in 50,000
  5. 5Illinois1 in 100,000
  6. 6New Jersey1 in 100,000
  7. 7Wisconsin1 in 100,000
  8. 8California1 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. Ludwig has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Ludwig around the world

Where Ludwig ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2009–2018
    #4,749
    in 2018
  • France
    1923–2025
    #2,871
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2002–2024
    #3,231
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1952–1966
    #536
    in 1966

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Ludwig

People whose public names include Ludwig, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Ludwig in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Ludwig. Linked forms have their own page here.

LuisLewisLouisLuigiClovisLudvigLudvikLudwikLudovicLudovicoLoïcLuísLajosLewysLluísLoeizLoïckClóvisLudvíkLudvigsChlodwigClodoveoLjudevitLodovico

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Ludwig by the numbers

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

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#7,040
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 2,183
Best rank ever
#493
1893
Peak year
1916
88 that year
First recorded
1880
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
2,696
Count in 2025
12

Names similar to Ludwig

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

LudwinLudgerLudieLudovicoLudovicLudwikLuddieLudlowLudvigLudvikLudwingLudoLudyLudwellLuddyTwig

Names with a curve like Ludwig

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Ludwig, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

VivianWorthAdelbertAloisRubyMelvilleVesterEvertOdieHazelDurwardOral

Sibling names for Ludwig

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

Explore around Ludwig

Top names of 1916, Ludwig's peak yearThe 1910s in fullOther names that peaked in 1893Boys' names starting with LGerman Boy NamesLouis Variations & NicknamesMusical Names