Lois is a common English

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...

from the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

mentions

Lois Lois is a common English name from the New Testament. Paul the Apostle mentions Lois, the pious grandmother of Saint Timothy in the Second Epistle to Timothy (commending her for her faith in 2 Timothy 1:5). The name was first used by English C ...

, the pious grandmother of

Saint Timothy Timothy or Timothy of Ephesus (Greek language, Greek: , ''Timótheos'', meaning "honouring God" or "honoured by God") was an early Christian Evangelism, evangelist and the first Christianity, Christian bishop of Ephesus, whom the Acts of Timothy ...

in the

Second Epistle to Timothy The Second Epistle to Timothy is one of the three pastoral epistles traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle.. Addressed to Timothy, a fellow missionary, it is traditionally considered to be the last epistle Paul wrote before his death. ...

(commending her for her faith in 2 Timothy 1:5). The name was first used by English Christians after the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, and it was popular, particularly in North America, during the first half of the 20th century.

Notable women

* Lois Austen-Leigh (1883–1968), English writer and war volunteer *

Lois Bewley Lois Bewley (1934–2012) was an American dancer, choreographer and designer. She studied at the School of American Ballet before joining the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo. After touring with the American Ballet Theatre and the dance companies of ...

(1934–2012), dancer and choreographer * Lois Bryan Adams (1817–1870), American writer, journalist, newspaper editor *

Lois Aileen Bey Lois Aileen Bey (born May 8, 1929) is an American chemical engineer who overcame overt sexism throughout her lifetime. On June 9, 1950, she made history as the first woman to graduate from the chemical engineering program at Illinois Institute o ...

is an African-American

chemical engineer A chemical engineer is a professional equipped with the knowledge of chemistry and other basic sciences who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of Product (chemistry), products and deals with ...

Lois Bryson Lois Joyce Bryson (5 October 1937 – 7 January 2024) was an Australian sociologist. She was one of the founders of academic sociology in Australia. Education Bryson completed her Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1959 followed by a Diploma of Educa ...

(1937–2024), Australian sociologist *

Lois McMaster Bujold Lois McMaster Bujold ( ; born November 2, 1949) is an American speculative fiction writer. She has won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record (not counting his Retro Hugos). Her novella '' The Mountains of ...

, author *

Lois Capps Lois Ragnhild Capps (née Grimsrud; January 10, 1938) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1998 to 2017. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 22nd District from 1998 to 200 ...

, congresswoman * Lois Chiles, actress *

Lois Collier Lois Collier (born Madelyn Earle Jones; March 21, 1917"Salley"
''

, actress * Lois Cox, New Zealand writer *

Lois Ehlert Lois Jane Ehlert (November 9, 1934 – May 25, 2021) was an American author and illustrator of children's books, most having to do with nature. Ehlert won the Caldecott Honor for ''Color Zoo'' in 1990. Some of her other popular works included '' ...

, writer *

Lois Frankel Lois Jane Frankel ( ; born May 16, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer who has been the United States representative for Florida's 22nd congressional district since 2023, having previously served it from 2013 to 2017. As a member of the D ...

, American politician *

Lois Hole Lois Elsa Hole, CM, AOE DStJ (née Veregin; 30 January 1929 – 6 January 2005) was a Canadian politician, businesswoman, academician, professional gardener and best-selling author. She was the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta from 10 ...

, lieutenant governor of Alberta (2000–2005) *

Lois Johnson Lois Johnson Scoggins (May 15, 1942 – July 7, 2014) was an American country music singer. She was from Maynardville, Tennessee. She recorded for different labels between 1969 and 1978, charted twenty singles on the Hot Country Songs charts. H ...

(1942–2014), American country music singer *

Lois Kolkhorst Lois Winkelmann Kolkhorst (born November 4, 1964) is an American businesswoman and politician serving as a Republican member of the Texas State Senate. She was first elected to the state Senate from the 18th District in a special election held ...

, American politician * Lois M. Leveen, author *

Lois Lenski Lois Lenore Lenski Covey (October 14, 1893 – September 11, 1974) was a Newbery Medal-winning author and illustrator of picture books and children's literature. Beginning in 1927 with her first books, ''Skipping Village'' and ''Jack Horner's Pie: ...

, Newberry Award–winning children's books author/illustrator * Lois Lilienstein, singer *

Lois Long Lois Bancroft Long (December 15, 1901 – July 29, 1974) was an American writer for ''The New Yorker'' during the 1920s. She was known under the pseudonym "Lipstick" and as the epitome of a flapper. She was born on December 15, 1901, in St ...

, writer for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' *

Lois Lowry Lois Ann Lowry (; née Hammersberg; born March 20, 1937) is an American writer. She is the author of many books for children and young adults, including '' The Giver Quartet'', '' Number the Stars'', the Anastasia series, and '' Rabble Starkey''. ...

, author *

Lois Maffeo Lois Maffeo (professionally known for much of her career as Lois) is an American musician and writer who lives in Olympia, Washington. She has been closely involved with and influenced many independent musicians, especially in the 1990s-era O ...

(''Lois''), musician *

Lois Maxwell Lois Ruth Maxwell (née Hooker; February 14, 1927 – September 29, 2007) was a Canadian actress. She was best known for portraying Miss Moneypenny in the first 14 Eon Productions, Eon-produced James Bond in film, ''James Bond'' films (1962–1 ...

, actress * Lois McCallin, athlete * Lois McConnell, lead singer of European EDM group

N-Force N-Force is an English dance music act that formed in 2008. Career The act comprises Lois McConnell as lead singer, plus Jorg Schmid and Chris Henry. N-Force is currently signed to UK Dance label All Around the World, and have so far released ...

* Lois McDonall, opera singer * Lois McIvor (1930–2017), New Zealand painter *

Lois Meredith Lois Meredith (alternative styling Loïs Mérédith) (June 26, 1897 – January 15, 1967) was a silent film and theatre actress. Career She infrequently appeared on the Broadway stage from 1911 to 1926. Meredith appeared in 22 films, of which 21 ...

, actress * Lois Miriam Wilson, minister * Lois Mitchell (born 1939), Canadian politician *

Lois Moran Lois Moran (born Lois Darlington Dowling; March 1, 1909 – July 13, 1990) was an American film and stage actress.

, actress * Lois Roberts, murder victim *

Lois Roisman Lois Roisman (March 29, 1938 – June 2, 2008) was an American philanthropist, playwright and poet. Background Lois Levin was a native of Fayetteville, Texas, and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. Following her marriage to Arnold Fagin, ...

, activist/playwright/poet *

Lois Smith Lois Arlene Smith (née Humbert; born November 3, 1930) is an American actress whose career spans 7 decades. She made her film debut in the 1955 drama film '' East of Eden'', and later played supporting roles in a number of movies, including '' ...

, actress * Lois Wilde, actress * Lois Wilson, American silent film actress * Lois V. Vierk, composer

Fictional women

*Lois the Balloon Fairy, a character in ''

Rainbow Magic ''Rainbow Magic'' is a British children's fiction brand originally created by Working Partners and currently owned by Mattel, with some licensing rights held by IoM Media Ventures. It is best known for the children's books published by Orchard Bo ...

''. *Lois the Blue Footed Booby, a character on ''

Bear in the Big Blue House ''Bear in the Big Blue House'' is an American children's television series created by Mitchell Kriegman and produced by Jim Henson Television for Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney preschool television block. Debuting on October 20, 1997, it a ...

''. *Lois Flagston (née Bailey), a character in the comic strip ''

Hi and Lois ''Hi and Lois'' is an American comic strip about a suburban family. Created by Mort Walker and illustrated by Dik Browne, both of whose children currently work on the strip, it debuted on October 18, 1954, distributed by King Features Syndicate ...

''. * Lois Foutley, a character in the animated TV series ''

As Told by Ginger ''As Told by Ginger'', also known as ''As Told by Ginger Foutley'',Beck, Jerry, ''Not Just Cartoons: Nicktoons!'' is an American animated preteen drama television series, produced by Klasky Csupo (which also produced ''Rugrats''), and aired on ...

.'' *

Lois Griffin Lois Patrice Griffin ( Pewterschmidt) is a fictional character from the American animated television series ''Family Guy''. She is voiced by Alex Borstein and first appeared in the show's pilot episode, "Death Has a Shadow", on January 31, 19 ...

(née Pewterschmidt), a main character in the animated TV series ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...

''. * Lois Habiba, a character in the TV series '' Torchwood: Children of Earth''. *

Lois Lane Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning ...

, the Daily Planet reporter in ''

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

''. *Lois Lane, who plays Bianca in the play within the play ''

Kiss Me, Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Bella and Samuel Spewack. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off- ...

''. *Lois Morgan, a character in the TV series ''

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth (given name), Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena, and Helen (given name), Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: * Elle ...

''. * Lois Wilkerson, a character in the TV series ''

Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons consisting of 151 episodes. The ...

''.

As male name

In French, Loïs is a male name, as in the fictional comic strip adventures of Loïs Lorcey by Jacques Martin. The name Loïs is derived from the name

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

, itself derived from

Clovis Clovis may refer to: People * Clovis (given name), the early medieval (Frankish) form of the name Louis ** Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler ** Clovis II (c. 634 – c. 657), ...

which is derived from the Germanic root, Hlodowig, which can be interpreted in the sense of "glorious" or "illustrious fighter". Close names include Louys, Luis, Louis, Lorys, Lucio, Leonus, Louniss, Lyes, Clovis, Ludovic, Ludwig, Lovis, and Luigi.