Louis

Eighteen kings of France answered to Louis, from Charlemagne's grandson to the ill-fated Sixteenth, who met the guillotine in 1793. The name comes from the Old Germanic Hludwig — famous warrior — and passed through Latin Ludovicus into French softness. The American South knows it for Armstrong, New Orleans horn bent over a handkerchief. Literature has Stevenson. The French pronunciation (LOO-ee) is gaining ground in the U.S., though LOO-iss remains common. Prince William and Kate chose it for their third child in 2018, and American usage has risen steadily since. A name with throne rooms and trumpet solos both.