English word origin

Etymology of Lulu

A reduplication of Lu, a clipping of given names with the first syllable of Lu, Lou, such as Lucy, Lucille, Louise, Louisa.

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

name

A female given name. · A diminutive of the female given names Louisa, Louise, Lucy, and Lucille.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

A reduplication of Lu, a clipping of given names with the first syllable of Lu, Lou, such as Lucy, Lucille, Louise, Louisa.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "reduplication",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Lu",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "reduplication of Lu"
    },
    {
      "name": "clipping",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "clipping"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Lu",
      "Lu#English"
    ],
    [
      "Lucy",
      "Lucy#English"
    ],
    [
      "Lucille",
      "Lucille#English"
    ],
    [
      "Louise",
      "Louise#English"
    ],
    [
      "Louisa",
      "Louisa#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A female given name.",
        "A diminutive of the female given names Louisa, Louise, Lucy, and Lucille."
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

name

A female given name from Chinese.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Chinese 璐璐, 露露 (lùlù), 璐露, 露璐, etc.; in turn from 璐, 露, etc. From the Chinese practice of reduplicating a syllable or character to create a female name. * From Mandarin Lù Lù, Lù-Lù, Lù-lù, Lùlù / Lu4lu4 / ㄌㄨˋㄌㄨˋ; in turn from Lù/lù, ㄌㄨˋ, Lu4/lu4. From Middle Chinese luH/LuH * From Cantonese Lou6lou6; in turn from Lou6/lou6. From Middle Chinese luH/LuH * From Taishanese Lu5lu5; in turn from Lu5/lu5. From Middle Chinese luH/LuH

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentionLù Lù, Lù-Lù, Lù-lù, Lùlù / Lu4lu4 / ㄌㄨˋㄌㄨˋcmn
Borrowed-form mentionLou6lou6yue

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "zh",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Chinese"
    },
    {
      "name": "zh-l",
      "args": {
        "1": "璐璐"
      },
      "expansion": "璐璐"
    },
    {
      "name": "zh-l",
      "args": {
        "1": "露露"
      },
      "expansion": "露露 (lùlù)"
    },
    {
      "name": "zh-l",
      "args": {
        "1": "璐露"
      },
      "expansion": "璐露"
    },
    {
      "name": "zh-l",
      "args": {
        "1": "露璐"
      },
      "expansion": "露璐"
    },
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      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cmn",
        "3": "Lù Lù, Lù-Lù, Lù-lù, Lùlù / Lu4lu4 / ㄌㄨˋㄌㄨˋ"
      },
      "expansion": "Mandarin Lù Lù, Lù-Lù, Lù-lù, Lùlù / Lu4lu4 / ㄌㄨˋㄌㄨˋ"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ltc",
        "3": "luH/LuH"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Chinese luH/LuH"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "yue",
        "3": "Lou6lou6"
      },
      "expansion": "Cantonese Lou6lou6"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ltc",
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    },
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      "name": "bor",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "zhx-tai",
        "3": "Lu5lu5"
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    },
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      "name": "der",
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        "1": "en",
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        "3": "luH/LuH"
      },
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    }
  ],
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    [
      "璐璐",
      "璐璐#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "露露",
      "露露#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "璐露",
      "璐露#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "露璐",
      "露璐#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "璐",
      "璐#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "露",
      "露#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "Lù Lù",
      "Lù Lù#Mandarin"
    ],
    [
      "Lù-Lù",
      "Lù-Lù#Mandarin"
    ],
    [
      "Lù-lù",
      "Lù-lù#Mandarin"
    ],
    [
      "Lùlù",
      "Lùlù#Mandarin"
    ],
    [
      "Lu4lu4",
      "Lu4lu4#Mandarin"
    ],
    [
      "ㄌㄨˋㄌㄨˋ",
      "ㄌㄨˋㄌㄨˋ#Mandarin"
    ],
    [
      "Lù",
      "Lù#Mandarin"
    ],
    [
      "lù",
      "lù#Mandarin"
    ],
    [
      "ㄌㄨˋ",
      "ㄌㄨˋ#Mandarin"
    ],
    [
      "Lu4",
      "Lu4#Mandarin"
    ],
    [
      "lu4",
      "lu4#Mandarin"
    ],
    [
      "luH",
      "luH#Middle_Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "LuH",
      "LuH#Middle_Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "Lou6lou6",
      "Lou6lou6#Cantonese"
    ],
    [
      "Lou6",
      "Lou6#Cantonese"
    ],
    [
      "lou6",
      "lou6#Cantonese"
    ],
    [
      "luH",
      "luH#Middle_Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "LuH",
      "LuH#Middle_Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "Lu5lu5",
      "Lu5lu5#Taishanese"
    ],
    [
      "Lu5",
      "Lu5#Taishanese"
    ],
    [
      "lu5",
      "lu5#Taishanese"
    ],
    [
      "luH",
      "luH#Middle_Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "LuH",
      "LuH#Middle_Chinese"
    ]
  ],
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      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A female given name from Chinese."
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

name

A unisex given name from Arabic. · A female given name from Arabic, equivalent to English Pearl.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Arabic لُؤْلُؤ (luʔluʔ, literally “pearl”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentionلُؤْلُؤar

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ar",
        "3": "لُؤْلُؤ",
        "lit": "pearl"
      },
      "expansion": "Arabic لُؤْلُؤ (luʔluʔ, literally “pearl”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "لُؤْلُؤ",
      "لؤلؤ#Arabic"
    ]
  ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Lulu →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-THVsdQ