Lewis

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Luis in BR Brazil, AR Argentina, MX Mexico and 12 more, Louis in US United States, MO Macao, Ludovic in FR France, BE Belgium and Ludwig in DE Germany.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 9 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Lewis is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish surname372K records spelled Lewis6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian

• a separate surname221K records spelled Lewis3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, India, Canada

  Also written Lew-Is

• French surname69K records spelled Lewis10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, United Kingdom, Canada

  Languages: French, Catalan

  Also written Léwis, Lēwīs, Lèwis, Lëwîs, Léwís

• Polish given name27K records spelled Lewis81 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Poland, United States, Czechia, Spain

  Languages: Polish, Czech, Croatian

  Also written Luis, Luiz, Luís, Луис, Louis

95 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Lewis is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, from Old Frankish Hlúdwig ‘loud battle’, via French Louis; first attested Lowis le Briton 1166 RBE (Ess)

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• In English, English form of Louis; used in Ireland to anglicise Laoiseach and Lughaidh.

  as a name·Irish first names

• reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Lughaidh ‘son of Lughaidh'. This is one of the most common Old Irish personal names. It is derived from Lugh ‘brightness’, which was the name of a Celtic god.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• Common English form, since the Middle Ages, of the French name pLouis. In modern use it is also in part a transferred use of the surname derived from this given name. Pet form: Lewie.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• 2. Welsh: from an Anglicized form of the personal name Llywelyn (see Llewellyn).

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Gilbert Newton Lewisb. 1875USAmerican physical chemist
• Sinclair Lewisb. 1885USAmerican writer and playwright (1885–1951)
• C. S. Lewisb. 1898GBBritish writer, lay theologian, and scholar (1898–1963)
• Arthur Lewisb. 1915LCSaint Lucian economist (1915–1991)
• Jerry Lee Lewisb. 1935USAmerican rock 'n' roll musician (1935–2022)
• Carl Lewisb. 1961USUS track & field athlete
• Juliette Lewisb. 1973USAmerican actress and singer
• Cassandra Clareb. 1973IRnot in their usual nameAmerican author
• Leona Lewisb. 1985GBBritish singer (born 1985)
• Matthew Lewisb. 1989GBEnglish actor (born 1989)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,214 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Lewis?

We estimate roughly 3.2 million people bear Lewis (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Lewis have the most bearers?

Lewis is most frequently recorded in Argentina, where it is most often spelled luis.

How common is Lewis compared with other names?

In Argentina, Lewis is the 7th most common given name of 517,176 given names recorded there.

What does the name Lewis mean?

Recorded meaning: From Lowis, a Norman name of Germanic origin meaning 'fame-war'; also from Llewellyn, Mac Lughaidh, Lewis Island, or similar Jewish names.