UK girl's name
Louella
A feminine English given name derived from the French name Loulou or Louloute, meaning "darling".
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.
Louella is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Louella popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1065, with 32 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2024, with 32 births.
This profile covers 246 England and Wales registrations across 24 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, 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.
Louella is at its recorded peak in the England and Wales series.
We estimate that about 250 living people in the UK are called Louella. 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
- • Louella ranked #1065 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 32 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2024, when 32 girls were registered as Louella.
- • Louella ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #540 in 2023.
- • About 250 living people in the UK are estimated to have Louella as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#1065
2024
Births in 2024
32
Latest year
Peak year
2024
32 births
Estimated living
250
2026
Meaning
What does Louella mean?
Louella is a feminine given name of English origin. It emerged as a combination of the French names Louise and Ella in the 19th century. The name Louise derives from the Germanic name Hlodwig, which means "famous warrior." Ella is a shortened form of names like Eleanor, which comes from the Greek ainos meaning "praise."
The first recorded use of the name Louella dates back to 1854 in the United States. It gained popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One of the earliest notable individuals with this name was Louella Parsons (1881-1972), an American gossip columnist and writer who was a pioneer in the field of celebrity journalism.
Another famous Louella was Louella Duvall Fletcher (1913-2007), an American civil rights activist and author who co-founded the National Alliance of Black Feminists. She was also the first African American woman to serve in the U.S. Maritime Service during World War II.
In the literary world, Louella Everett (1878-1972) was an American author and playwright known for her works depicting life in the American South. Her novel, "The Woodsmoke Camp," published in 1900, was one of her most notable works.
Louella Parsons' daughter, Louella Oettinger Parsons (1915-1990), was also a notable figure. She was an American film producer and philanthropist who established the Louella Parsons Foundation to support charitable causes.
In the field of music, Louella Flanders (1892-1972) was an American folk singer and songwriter, known for her work in preserving and promoting traditional folk music from the Appalachian region.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Louella, highlighting its versatility and enduring presence across various fields and cultural contexts.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Louella over time
The chart below shows babies named Louella 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 Louella, the clearest high point is 2024. The latest England and Wales figure is 32 births in 2024, compared with 32 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Louella by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Louella 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 | #1522 | 106 | 5 |
| 2010s | #3393 | 89 | 9 |
| 2000s | #3322 | 39 | 7 |
| 1990s | #3240 | 12 | 3 |
Geography
Where Louella is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Louella. 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.
Louella ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #540 in 2023.
Across the UK
Louella in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#540 in 2023
1 years of NRS records, 5 total registered
Related
Names similar to Louella
- Lily 72,956
- Lucy 70,663
- Lauren 50,664
- Leah 33,185
- Lola 24,525
- Layla 24,520
- Laura 23,471
- Lilly 21,714
- Lydia 18,353
- Libby 14,515
- Lara 13,415
- Lacey 13,406
FAQ
Louella: questions and answers
How popular is the name Louella in the UK right now?
In 2024, Louella was ranked #1065 for girls in England and Wales, with 32 births registered.
When was Louella most popular?
The peak year on record was 2024, with 32 babies registered as Louella in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Louella?
A feminine English given name derived from the French name Loulou or Louloute, meaning "darling".
How many people are called Louella in the UK?
A total of 246 babies have been registered as Louella across the 24 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 5 more in Scotland.
Where is Louella most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Louella ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #540 in 2023. 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.