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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Hugo or Louis/ Louie

80 replies

CJ601 · 11/10/2024 15:43

Trying to decide between Hugo or Louis/Louie for third baby. Already have a Theodore and Noah.

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sadeightiesthrowback · 17/10/2024 20:23

The only other Mungo I can think of hearing about is Mungo Jerry.
Famous hit: In the Summertime.
Loooong time ago!
Mungo is kind of a cool name really .
The source I looked at said it was a rare Scottish nickname but for what I don't know.

FayCarew · 17/10/2024 20:02

I like it but it seems to not be popular in England & Wales.
Babies called Mungo in England & Wales since 1996 (darkgreener.com)
Might be more popular in Scotland.

Inspired, I looked up some famous Hughs full names.

sadeightiesthrowback · 17/10/2024 19:53

Ah yes, Hugh Grant and Hugh Bonneville to name two; both not likely to inspire young parents of today.
Does anyone see Mungo becoming popular, I wonder? I see that's one Hugh Grant's middle names. 😏

FayCarew · 17/10/2024 19:34

@MerryMarys , it might be less popular now than it was 3 years ago because of who made the name a familiar one.
If a name becomes well-known because of someone on telly it seems new and fresh but in that culture it could be a name from that person's age group.

sadeightiesthrowback · 17/10/2024 19:03

Yes Hugh/Huw is a classic name and certainly well known in the UK.
It would be a good choice as a name today, if the parent wasn't looking for a commonly used name, like Noah for instance.
Really old-fashioned names for both boys and girls are making the rounds again.
How does that saying go?Everything old is new again.
🤷

MerryMarys · 17/10/2024 18:40

I think Hugh/Huw is a great classic name. Well known but not fashionable currently - 23 Huws is not too popular but still a well known name.

sadeightiesthrowback · 17/10/2024 18:03

Thanks @FayCarew , you're right, Huw is quite outdated, and even Hugh, isn't the most popular these days in the UK.

Huw/ Hugh was used a lot 25-30 yrs ago, and it's had it's literal ups and downs, like a mountain range on the graph, but is in the down-swing at this time.

Your name source is a good one, new to me, I was looking at some others but, mainly I got the idea that Hugh was having a bit of a resurgence from a few PPs that seemed to like it, which surprised me actually.

Hugo ranks among the top 100 in many countries in Europe, not so much elsewhere.
Top four names in NA for 2024 are: Noah, Liam, Oliver and Elijah.
Hugo doesn't make the cut.
Thanks for the darkgreener site name, it's very different from ones I've seen.

FayCarew · 17/10/2024 08:19

Babies called Huw in England & Wales since 1996 (darkgreener.com)
23 Huws in 2021.

SweetSakura · 17/10/2024 07:31

Theo and Noah have much nicer names.

FayCarew · 17/10/2024 07:28

Huw was very popular in Wales about 50-60 years ago.

sadeightiesthrowback · 16/10/2024 23:00

IamnotwhouthinkIam · 16/10/2024 22:41

Louie is cute on a toddler - but my first reference is the famous cartoon duck so I’m less keen for adults. Whereas there have been what seems like a zillion Kings of France named Louis - there’s been enough of them historically that the majority of people should be able to pronounce and spell it.

I’ve never heard of the King Hugo that a previous poster mentioned - to me Hugo is along the lines of Rupert, a former “posh boy” name (at least in the UK), but has now gone more mainstream. Classic Hugh on the other hand is just your average bloke (admittedly more likely a middle aged one, since it seems underused on kids now).

There have been quite a number of fictional and cartoon characters named Louie, including the trio Huey and Dewey and Louie.
Speaking of Huey.
Apparently the name Hugh, and even Huw, is enjoying a comeback in popularity with new parents.
It's a great name.

IamnotwhouthinkIam · 16/10/2024 22:41

Louie is cute on a toddler - but my first reference is the famous cartoon duck so I’m less keen for adults. Whereas there have been what seems like a zillion Kings of France named Louis - there’s been enough of them historically that the majority of people should be able to pronounce and spell it.

I’ve never heard of the King Hugo that a previous poster mentioned - to me Hugo is along the lines of Rupert, a former “posh boy” name (at least in the UK), but has now gone more mainstream. Classic Hugh on the other hand is just your average bloke (admittedly more likely a middle aged one, since it seems underused on kids now).

MerryMarys · 16/10/2024 22:36

It's not just in America that Louis is pronounced like Lou-is (Lewis), but also in many European countries apart from France.

That's probably why Louie has become the more popular spelling

sadeightiesthrowback · 16/10/2024 22:20

Regarding Louie versus Louis.

This may not be relevant or it may be in future years to someone who should be prepared to correct the pronunciation of their name.

From reading up on it, it seems that Louis is the preferred spelling of the name in the US.

However, because Americans generally are more familiar with the Spanish language than the French, Louis is very often pronounced Loo-iss.

The Spanish name is Luis, where the "s" ls not silent.

Louie ( the slightly less popular spelling of the name than Louis) of course is always pronounced Loo-ee.
Even though most would say it isn't relevant how a name is pronounced in America, it does point out that it is a confusing name unfortunately, not everyone will say it correctly.

Judystilldreamsofhorses · 16/10/2024 22:01

Our cat is Louie, but I actually dithered about changing his name to Hugo when we adopted him. Both fab names.

bert3400 · 16/10/2024 21:55

user1492757084 · 16/10/2024 04:42

Theodore, Noah and Louis sound best to me.

Never mispell Louis as Louie. Everyone, except the very ignorant, knows how to pronounce Louis.
Hugo sounds too samey/tongue twister/complicated in the same sentence with Theo and Noah.

Other ideas:
Theodore, Noah and
Gabriel
Michael
Raphael
Philip

Btw I'm not ignorant, I just know that people will pronounce 'louis' - Lewis ....so many many years ago we decided to call our son Louie ...and I'm glad we did, no confusion, no mispronunciation .. happy days 😁

MerryMarys · 16/10/2024 08:43

Doesn't The gymnast Louis Smith pronounce his name also as Lou-is?

MinervaMcGonagallsCat · 16/10/2024 07:20

Louis but where I live it's pronounced Lewis.

Raininginparadise2 · 16/10/2024 06:48

Louis 🥰

bert3400 · 16/10/2024 05:23

I dislike the name Lewis, but we called our son Louie, yes that spelling 😳as I didn't want people to confuse the French spelling (Louis) ...which would happen . Nothing wrong with spelling it Louie . He is 22 now and it's a great name

user1492757084 · 16/10/2024 04:42

Theodore, Noah and Louis sound best to me.

Never mispell Louis as Louie. Everyone, except the very ignorant, knows how to pronounce Louis.
Hugo sounds too samey/tongue twister/complicated in the same sentence with Theo and Noah.

Other ideas:
Theodore, Noah and
Gabriel
Michael
Raphael
Philip

Leeloo1233 · 15/10/2024 14:51

The curse of being called Hugo?

It's one of the oldest names in Europe rich with history, used by kings in France back in the day, means mind and intellect, and is in the top 100 in the Uk and top 50 in France, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands. Doesn't seem too awful but if anything pretty cool and international.

Greenerstreet · 15/10/2024 14:04

I actually really like both, but Louis is my favourite!

DisplayPurposesOnly · 15/10/2024 07:42

Compromise - Huey!

MerryMarys · 15/10/2024 07:36

@FayCarew The majority of parents seem to disagree as more are using the spelling Louie!

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