Gender: Masculine
Origin: Italian
It (LOH-rees); Fre (LOH-HREES)
The name was originally an Italian diminutive form of Lorenzo, now widely used as an independent given name, especially in German and French-speaking countries.
As of 2010, it was the 42nd most popular male name in German-speaking, Switzerland, (2010). His rankings in other countries are as follows:
- # 30 (French-speaking Switzerland, 2010)
- # 41 (Italian-speaking, Switzerland, 2010)
- # 100 (France, 2009)
- # 445 (Germany, 2011)
The name may have been popularized in the German-speaking world via Austrian Poet and Dramatist, Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874-1929), he often used Loris as a pen-name.
In the French-speaking world, it may have been introduced via the Italian-French fashion designer, Loris Azzaro (1933-2003).
Coincidentally, it is also the name of a genus strepsirrhine primates, and thus, may also be used as a sort of nature name.