72%RatingSave Gender Masculine Usage English Pronounced Pron. LO-əl [key·IPA] Meaning & History From an English surname that was derived from a Norman French nickname, from lou "wolf" and a diminutive suffix. The surname was borne by American poet and satirist James Russell Lowell (1819-1891). PopularityDetails Last ranked #937 in 1986 United States Categories animals, canines, currently out of the US top 1000, fauna, gospel musicians, nature, place names, poets, Robert A. Heinlein characters, Sufjan Stevens songs, surnames, wolf