boys' name ★ peaked 1921

Lewis

Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #433 Trend ↑ Rising 37%

From Middle English Lewis, Lowis, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French Louis, from Frankish *Hlūdawīg.

Rank 2025
#433
among boys · ↓1 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
736
named Lewis
How common
1 in 2,321
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1921
2,731 babies
All-time total
156,636
#221 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Lewis popularity over time

156,636 babies have been named Lewis since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
1.252.53.75518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 4,341 4,341 434 – #30
1890s 16 3,699 3,715 372 -14% #50
1900s 18 4,042 4,060 406 +9% #52
1910s 124 17,787 17,911 1,791 +341% #65
1920s 163 25,328 25,491 2,549 +42% #71
1930s 126 20,017 20,143 2,014 -21% #87
1940s 109 20,931 21,040 2,104 +4% #107
1950s 81 18,133 18,214 1,821 -13% #132
1960s 85 11,683 11,768 1,177 -35% #204
1970s 83 7,517 7,600 760 -35% #236
1980s 59 5,841 5,900 590 -22% #305
1990s – 4,533 4,533 453 -23% #396
2000s 6 3,424 3,430 343 -24% #573
2010s – 4,552 4,552 455 +33% #506
2020s (to 2025) – 3,938 3,938 656 +44% #432

Where Lewis is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 777 0.46 #413
2027 814 0.48 #391
2028 847 0.50 #375
2029 876 0.51 #368
2030 901 0.53 #363

Where Lewis is most popular

Boys named Lewis per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.388 per 1,000. Strongest in Montana, Alaska, and Minnesota.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Lewis born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Montana 38 2.15 +456%
Alaska 25 2.10 +441%
Minnesota 182 1.48 +283%
Utah 114 1.19 +208%
Wisconsin 125 1.06 +172%
Oregon 73 0.962 +148%
North Dakota 16 0.937 +142%
Washington 144 0.880 +127%
Vermont 5 0.796 +105%
Kansas 52 0.758 +95%
Idaho 31 0.757 +95%
Michigan 155 0.757 +95%
Colorado 91 0.705 +82%
Iowa 48 0.696 +79%
Missouri 93 0.671 +73%
Ohio 164 0.619 +60%
Nebraska 24 0.552 +42%
Indiana 87 0.543 +40%
South Carolina 52 0.503 +30%
Virginia 94 0.495 +28%
Pennsylvania 131 0.493 +27%
Tennessee 88 0.488 +26%
Mississippi 27 0.475 +23%
Georgia 111 0.438 +13%
Alabama 47 0.430 +11%
North Carolina 105 0.411 +6%
Oklahoma 36 0.407 +5%
Maryland 44 0.369 -5%
West Virginia 12 0.368 -5%
Massachusetts 50 0.364 -6%
Arizona 56 0.342 -12%
Illinois 87 0.340 -12%
Connecticut 23 0.340 -12%
District of Columbia 5 0.339 -13%
Kentucky 32 0.319 -18%
New York 132 0.305 -21%
Arkansas 19 0.300 -23%
New Hampshire 6 0.270 -30%
Maine 5 0.258 -34%
California 232 0.254 -35%
Texas 187 0.212 -45%
New Jersey 42 0.209 -46%
Florida 96 0.203 -48%
Nevada 6 0.105 -73%
Louisiana 5 0.049 -87%
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
New Mexico – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Lewis

Lewis is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #433 in 2025 with 736 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 156,636 American babies have been named Lewis. Its peak came in 1921, when 2,731 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1920s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Lewis stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Lewis?

The median living Lewis is about 60 years old; half are between 36 and 74. An estimated 66 thousand people named Lewis are alive in the United States today.

median 60 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Lewis year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 – – 736 #433
2024 – – 734 #432
2023 – – 648 #470
2022 – – 623 #489
2021 – – 609 #485
2020 – – 588 #497
2019 – – 507 #557
2018 – – 510 #548
2017 – – 521 #542
2016 – – 592 #506
2015 – – 495 #568
2014 – – 463 #594
2013 – – 389 #636
2012 – – 378 #636
2011 – – 371 #630
2010 – – 326 #715
2009 – – 326 #725
2008 – – 386 #637
2007 – – 340 #694
2006 – – 333 #679
2005 – – 328 #657
2004 6 #15,263 338 #624
2003 – – 324 #633
2002 – – 353 #592
2001 – – 339 #590
2000 – – 357 #573
1995 – – 378 #521
1990 – – 579 #398
1985 – – 559 #341
1980 – – 646 #305
1975 10 #5,784 660 #290
1970 12 #4,641 999 #236
1965 – – 1,117 #216
1960 10 #4,327 1,398 #204
1955 11 #3,684 1,782 #160
1950 – – 2,027 #132
1945 12 #2,681 1,836 #123
1940 8 #3,380 1,900 #107
1935 12 #2,505 1,974 #98
1930 18 #1,989 2,243 #87
1925 15 #2,446 2,577 #79
1920 10 #3,236 2,688 #72
1915 7 #3,630 2,307 #70
1910 7 #2,034 555 #65
1905 6 #1,820 384 #65
1900 – – 469 #52
1895 5 #1,725 377 #58
1890 – – 375 #51
1885 – – 437 #42
1880 – – 517 #30

Famous people named Lewis

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Lewis Capaldi Lewis Capaldi Scottish singer-songwriter (born 1996) Contemporary
  2. 2 Lewis Carroll Lewis Carroll British author and scholar (1832–1898) 19th century
  3. 3 Lewis Arquette Lewis Arquette American actor (1935–2001) Contemporary
  4. 4 Lewis Black Lewis Black American comedian and actor (born 1948) Contemporary
  5. 5 Lewis Howard Latimer Lewis Howard Latimer American inventor (1848–1928) 19th century
  6. 6 Lewis Holtby Lewis Holtby German footballer (born 1990) Contemporary
  7. 7 Lewis Cass Lewis Cass United States Army officer and politician (1782–1866) 18th century
  8. 8 Lewis Mumford Lewis Mumford American scholar and writer (1895–1990) 19th century
  9. 9 Lewis Gilbert Lewis Gilbert English film director (1920–2018) Contemporary
  10. 10 Lewis Hine Lewis Hine American sociologist and photographer (1874–1940) 19th century
  11. 11 Lewis Stone Lewis Stone American actor (1879–1953) 19th century
  12. 12 Lewis Baker Lewis Baker English footballer (born 1995) Contemporary
  13. 13 Lewis Milestone Lewis Milestone Russian-American filmmaker (1895–1980) 19th century
  14. 14 Lewis Grabban Lewis Grabban English footballer b. 1988 · Contemporary
  15. 15 Lewis H. Morgan Lewis H. Morgan American anthropologist (1818–1881) 19th century
  16. 16 Lewis Terman Lewis Terman American educational psychologist, academic, and eugenicist (1877–1956) 19th century
  17. 17 Lewis Teague Lewis Teague American film director (born 1938) Contemporary
  18. 18 Lewis H. Brereton Lewis H. Brereton Lieutenant General in the United States Air Force (1890-1967) 19th century
  19. 19 Lewis Fry Richardson Lewis Fry Richardson English meteorologist and mathematician (1881–1953) 19th century
  20. 20 Lewis Binford Lewis Binford American archaeologist (1931–2011) 1932–2011 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Lewis, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Lewis?

The median living Lewis is about 60 years old. Half of all living Lewiss are between 36 and 74 years old.

How many people named Lewis are alive today?

An estimated 66 thousand people named Lewis are alive in the United States, based on 156,636 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Lewis mean?

From Middle English Lewis, Lowis, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French Louis, from Frankish *Hlūdawīg.

How popular is the name Lewis in 2025?

Lewis ranked #433 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 736 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Lewis?

156,636 babies have been named Lewis in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Lewis most popular?

Lewis peaked in 1921, when 2,731 newborns received the name.

Is Lewis a boy or girl name?

Lewis is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Lewis rising or falling?

Lewis is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Lewis become more popular?

Lewis is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 901 boys named Lewis in 2030, which would rank around #363. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Lewis?

Well-known people named Lewis include Lewis Capaldi (singer), Lewis Carroll (writer), Lewis Arquette (actor).

Names like Lewis

Names that sound and feel close to Lewis: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Lewis with similar names → More names starting with L →