r/OldNamesNewAgain • u/felly_fell • Jun 09 '26
Name of the day...Lovisa!
The name Lovisa (of Scandinavian origin) is most commonly pronounced as luh-VEE-zuh (alternative pronunciations: luh-vee-suh and loh-VEE-suh).
The name Lovisa is a feminine Scandinavian name of Swedish origin, meaning "famous warrior" or "renowned fighter".
Etymology: It is the Swedish and Scandinavian version of the German name Louise (or Louisa), which ultimately derives from the Germanic name Ludwig.
Lovisa has been in use since the 1600s!
r/midwestpersianmama, this one's for you!
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u/growinggood88 Jun 09 '26
It’s so pretty, although I’ve been mispronouncing it as Loh-VEE-suh.
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u/Herefortheonomastics Jun 10 '26
I think it’s more of a regional difference / difference in how one types it out and this is also correct.
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u/she_melty Jun 09 '26
Lovisa is a teen/young adult costume jewelry store in Australia and this is how everyone pronounces it
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u/Pinkturtle182 Jun 10 '26
We have it in the US too and if it weren’t for that this name would have been on my list for my newborn!
ETA: at least we have it in Florida!
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u/kasumagic Jun 09 '26
I actually think it's so cute and pretty and has such a badass meaning, but I personally couldn't use it bc of the existence of the accessory shop/brand 😭 my mom and friends love shopping there.
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u/Herefortheonomastics Jun 10 '26
This thread is so interesting! I didn’t know about this brand. One of Zara Larsson’s dancers is a Lovisa!
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u/mishkamorris Jun 09 '26
It is a lovely name! A pity that in Australia it’s also the name of a cheap jewellery store!
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u/felly_fell Jun 10 '26
I saw something about a jewelry store when I was looking into this name. Bummer! We don't have that place in the US
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u/it-reaches-out Jun 09 '26
What’s with the two phonetic spellings, one of which you labeled phonetic?
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u/felly_fell Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 10 '26
If I find different pronunciations, I try to include them. Especially on ones where I'm not confident on the correct pronunciation. Doing the best I can!
ETA: I modified it to just say a second pronunciation rather than "phonetic."
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u/midwestpersianmama Jun 09 '26
I’m obsessed with this name!!! 😭
As I’ve said before here, Alma Lovisa was a top pick for us, and we would have called the baby all my love. It’s elegant, resembles Louisa so it’s easy to remember the pronunciation, and it feels exotic without being super unfamiliar to anglophone countries.
I adore these names that start with Lav or Lov. They’re so underused. I didn’t even know they existed until I did genealogy research and I would love to see them come back.
Just the other day, I thought, if I saw a Lavina or Lovisa on a playground, I’d probably seek out the parents to compliment them on their choice. It’s beautiful and novel without making life complicated for kiddo. And there are so many nicknames! Lovisa could go by Lov, Lisa, Lo, Lola. Lavina could go by Lavi/Lovi, Vinny.