UK boy's name
Lewis
A masculine given name of French origin meaning "renowned warrior".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Lewis is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Lewis popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #216, with 228 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 1999, with 4,916 births.
This profile covers 69,555 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 5% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 88,481 living people in the UK are called Lewis. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Lewis ranked #216 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 228 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 1999, when 4,916 boys were registered as Lewis.
- • Lewis ranks best in North East in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #1 in 2008.
- • About 88,481 living people in the UK are estimated to have Lewis as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#216
2024
Births in 2024
228
Latest year
Peak year
1999
4,916 births
Estimated living
88,481
2026
Meaning
What does Lewis mean?
The given name Lewis has its origins in the Germanic language family, derived from the old Frankish words "leuthi" (people) and "wig" (war), forming the combined meaning of "renowned warrior" or "famed fighter among the people". It gained prominence during the Early Middle Ages in Western Europe, particularly in regions with Frankish cultural influences.
The name Lewis can be traced back to the 8th century, when it was recorded as a personal name among the Franks and other Germanic tribes. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Louis the Pious (778-840), the son of Charlemagne and King of the Franks from 814 to 840 CE. He played a significant role in the spread and adoption of the name throughout Europe.
Lewis appears in various forms throughout medieval texts and historical records. In the 11th century, the name was documented as "Lodewig" in Old High German, and as "Lodovic" in Old French. It also appeared in Latin texts as "Ludovicus" and in Old English as "Hlodwig" or "Hloduwig".
Some notable historical figures with the name Lewis include Louis IX (1214-1270), also known as Saint Louis, who was the King of France from 1226 until his death. He led the Seventh and Eighth Crusades and is remembered for his piety and efforts to reform the French monarchy. Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), the English author best known for his works "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass", is another famous bearer of the name.
Other notable Lewis figures include Lewis Latimer (1848-1928), an African American inventor and draftsman who worked with Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison; Lewis Hine (1874-1940), an American sociologist and photographer who documented the lives of child laborers and immigrants; and Lewis Terman (1877-1956), an American psychologist who developed the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale and pioneered research on gifted children.
The enduring popularity of the name Lewis can be attributed to its rich historical significance, as well as its association with notable figures throughout various eras and fields, from royalty and religion to literature and science.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Lewis over time
The chart below shows babies named Lewis registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Lewis, the clearest high point is 1999. The latest England and Wales figure is 228 births in 2024, compared with 4,916 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lewis by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Lewis was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #161 | 1,749 | 5 |
| 2010s | #63 | 12,810 | 10 |
| 2000s | #16 | 37,928 | 10 |
| 1990s | #19 | 17,068 | 4 |
Geography
Where Lewis is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Lewis. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Lewis ranks best in North East in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #1 in 2008.
Across the UK
Lewis in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#28 in 2024
51 years of NRS records, 17,934 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#136 in 2024
28 years of NISRA records, 1,824 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Lewis
-
Lewis Young
association football player
Footballer (born 1989)
1989-
-
Lewis Rees
rugby union player; rugby league player
Welsh rugby union and rugby league footballer (1910-1976)
1910-1976
-
Lewis Meredith
writer; preacher
preacher and writer
1826-1891
-
Lewis Caerleon
astronomer; teacher; physician; mathematician; author; theologian
physician to Elizabeth , widow of Edward IV , Margaret Countess Richmond and Henry Tudor
1500-
Related
Names similar to Lewis
- Luke 72,247
- Leo 63,249
- Liam 60,482
- Lucas 49,061
- Logan 40,771
- Louis 35,898
- Luca 30,323
- Louie 24,242
- Leon 22,308
- Levi 9,931
- Lee 7,861
- Leonardo 6,821
FAQ
Lewis: questions and answers
How popular is the name Lewis in the UK right now?
In 2024, Lewis was ranked #216 for boys in England and Wales, with 228 births registered.
When was Lewis most popular?
The peak year on record was 1999, with 4,916 babies registered as Lewis in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Lewis?
A masculine given name of French origin meaning "renowned warrior".
How many people are called Lewis in the UK?
A total of 69,555 babies have been registered as Lewis across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 17,934 more in Scotland and 1,824 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Lewis most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Lewis ranks best in North East, where it placed #1 in 2008. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.