Meaning: Its source is Hlutwig, an Ancient Germanic name meaning "Famous warrior."

Nickname For: Louis

Popularity: The name Louie ranked 514th in popularity for males of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.

Though this name has fluctuated in use, it has been quietly present throughout the last century.

Narrative: This name is sometimes Latinized as Clovis, and it was a Germanic tribal leader known by that name who ended the Roman domination of what is now France and established himself as king.

It is thus appropriate that sixteen kings of France bore the French form of this name, Louis.

Meaning: Its source is Hlutwig, an Ancient Germanic name meaning "Famous warrior."

Nickname For: Louise

Popularity: The name Louie ranked 2822nd in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.

Though this name appears on the 1990 U.S. Census lists, it is used by only a small percentage of the general population.

Narrative: The Ancient Germanic name Hlutwig was Latinized into Ludovicus. The French shortened this to Clovis, and over time dropped the ''c'' and changed the ''v'' to a ''u.'' Voilá, Louis. In the opinion of the French, this was an excellent name for a king -- eighteen of them, in fact.

Somewhere in this progression, the feminine Latin form Louisa was changed by the French into Louise, and from the interplay of these names a bouquet of girls' names grew -- Eloise, Heloise, Eloisa, Luisa and others.