How would you pronounce “Louis”?

[MrsW32]

We are really feeling the name Louis for our little boy. However we wanted a name that wouldn’t cause any confusion when pronouncing it due to me having a life long issue with my own name being constantly mispronounced and I don’t want to inflict that on him. But we really love Louis and to pronounce it as “Louie” but I really don’t like the spelling Louie.

We have 2 other names in the mix Jude and Leo which we both love and will not have the above issue, but just don’t have the edge that Louis does!

I’ve included a poll too 😅

Any opinions?

I know several, they are all pronounced Lewie, like the kings of France. It wouldn't occur to me to pronounce them any other way.

I would say Lew-is but my husband from the continent would say Loo-ee.

I would say Loo-ee

I’d say Loo-ee. Like the Prince.

(Loo-iss is for Armstrong or St.)

The correct way. 😉

Friends DS is a Louis pronounced Louie.

I think that Lewis is the spelling for the other pronunciation?

I would say Lou-ee but I have met a few spelled Louis and pronounced Lewis.

I think Armstrong is def Louie!!!

I’d pronounce it Lou- ie

But the character on Suits who spells it the same way is called Lew-is so there will be some people who will pronounce it this way

If you really want to pick a name where there is no risk of confusion about pronunciation, I think this isn’t the one.

No, in the song Hello Dolly he says “this is Loo-iss, Dolly” and she says “Hello Loo-iss”.

We have a Louis (Louie pronunciation) in our family. He does usually get asked if it’s ‘Louie’ or ‘Lewis’ by a new teacher, or first time at a new hobby, but once told no one ever gets it wrong.

I don't know, I'd hope someone would say before I needed to & that's the problem. If you want to avoid people saying Lewis, go for Leo.

Lou-ee like the prince.
If I wanted Lou-iss I'd spell it Lewis.

Because in songs you can use a lot of poetic licence as far as pronunciation goes.

Seems like it’s 50/50. I’ve always read Louis as Lou-ee but when I mentioned the name to family members they were saying Lewis but all Louis I know or know of are Louie - I.e Prince Louis, Louis Theroux, Louis Tomlinson and Louis Armstrong - as they’re quite famous Louis’ I thought I would get away with it but clearly not 😅

Thank you for your opinions

Very interesting-just googled as was sure I'd heard him called Louie.

Is it pronounced Lewis or Louie? Some point to the trumpeter's own words. In a 1947 interview, Armstrong said: "My mother always called me [Lewis], not Louie." But audio recordings suggest that almost everyone else who knew him (including his wife) used the other pronunciation.23 Jul 2024

Apparently he preferred Lewis -like his Mum called him. So his wife called him Louie...shame mumsnet wasn't around to see the AIBU about that one!!

I wouldn't know whether it was Lewis or Lou-wee, so I'd ask. If I had to guess I'd probably go Lewis unless I knew the family had French heritage/connections.

@MrsMitford3 thats an interesting fact, never knew that about Louis Armstrong 😅

I've taught loads of Louis and it's 50:50 as to whether they pronounce it Lewis or Louie.

I've also taught Lewises and Louies where it's more straightforward!

Cousin is a Louis & no issues with pronunciation growing up. There’s enough famous Louis out there that it seems weird there is more confusion now

If I had to guess I'd probably go Lewis unless I knew the family had French heritage/connections.

Why would you assume it was Lewis but not spelt Lewis if the family were English?

It's pronounced the correct way- the French way (L-oo-ee phonetically).

St Louis in America is pronounced Lewis so is it an American thing?

I always think Americans say Loo-is but Europeans say Loo-ee.

I was surprised to hear Louis Armstrong and St Louis were Lewis.

What type of Louis, do you mean without the s at the end?