Ludwig (given name)

Ludwig is a German name, deriving from Old High German Hludwīg, also spelled Hluotwīg. Etymologically, the name can be traced back to the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name *hlūdawiganaz, which is composed of two elements: *hlūdaz ("loud, famous") and *wiganą ("to battle, to fight") respectively, the resulting name meaning "famous warrior" or "famous in battle".

The name is pronounced in German as LOOT-vig, with the second syllable pronounced as rather than English .

Notable people and characters with the name include:

People

Note: Individuals may appear in more than one subsection.

German nobles

• Ludwig I, count of Württemberg (1143–1158)
• Ludwig II, count of Württemberg (1158–1181)
• Ludwig I, count of Württemberg-Urach (1419–1450)
• Ludwig II, count of Württemberg-Urach (1450–1457)
• Ludwig IV, landgrave of Thuringia (1200–1227)
• Ludwig I of Bavaria, king of Bavaria (1825–1848)
• Ludwig II of Bavaria, king of Bavaria (1864–1886)
• Ludwig III of Bavaria, last king of Bavaria (1913–1918)
• Ludwig V (disambiguation)
• Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine (1877–1892)

Architects

• Ludwig Levy, German architect
• Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, German-American architect

Artists

• Ludwig Burger, German painter and illustrator
• Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German painter and printmaker
• Ludwig Merwart, Austrian painter and graphic artist
• Ludwig Mestler, Austrian artist noted for his watercolor painting
• Ludwig Richter, German painter

Authors and poets

• Ludwig Bemelmans, American author and children's book writer and illustrator
• Ludwig Thoma, German author
• Ludwig Tieck, German poet
• Ludwig Uhland, German poet
• Ludwig Lavater, Swiss author

Composers, conductors and musicians

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), German composer and pianist
• Ludwig Göransson, Swedish composer, conductor, and record producer
• Ludwig Minkus, Austrian composer and violin virtuoso
• Ludwig Spohr (1784–1859), German composer, violinist and conductor

Philosophers

• Ludwig Feuerbach (1804–1872), German philosopher and anthropologist
• Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian philosopher

Politicians

• Ludwig von Cobenzl (1753–1809), Austrian Habsburg diplomat and politician
• Ludwig Erhard (1897–1977), German economist and West German chancellor
• Ludwig Grass (1789–1860), Liechtensteiner physician and politician
• Ludwig Keke (born c. 1935), Nauruan politician and diplomat
• Ludwig Marxer (1867–1962), Deputy Prime Minister of Liechtenstein
• Ludwig Mecklinger (1919–1994), East German politician and academic
• Ludwig Schulze, Papua New Guinean politician
• Ludwig Scotty (1948–2026), Nauruan politician, twice president of Nauru

Scientists

• Ludwig Aschoff, German physician and pathologist
• Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901–1972), Austrian-born biologist
• Ludwig Binswanger, Swiss psychiatrist
• Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist
• Ludwig Feuerbach (1804–1872), German anthropologist and philosopher
• Ludwig von Mises, Austrian economist
• Ludwig Mond, German chemist
• Ludwig Prandtl, German physicist
• Ludwig Reichenbach, German botanist
• Ludwig Schläfli, Swiss geometer
• Ludwig von Graff, an Austrian zoologist

Soldiers

• Ludwig Beck, German World War II general involved in the 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler
• Ludwig von Benedek, Austrian general (Feldzeugmeister) of Hungarian descent
• Ludwig Crüwell, German World War II general
• Ludwig Kübler, German General der Gebirgstruppe
• Ludwig Plagge (1910–1948), German SS officer at Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Majdanek concentration camps executed for war crimes
• Ludwig Runzheimer, German Nazi Gestapo officer executed for war crimes

Others

• Ludwig W. Adamec (1924–2019), American academic and historian
• Ludwig Ahgren (born 1995), American YouTuber and live streamer
• Ludwig Breitenbach (1813-1885), German classical scholar
• Ludwig von Erlichshausen (1410–1467), Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights
• Ludwig Fischer (1905–1947), German Nazi lawyer and government official executed for war crimes
• Ludwig Gehre, German resistance fighter during World War II
• Ludwig Gumplowicz (1838–1909), Polish sociologist, jurist, historian, and political scientist
• Ludwig Kaiser, ring name of German professional wrestler Marcel Barthel (born 1990)
• Ludwig Leichhardt, Prussian explorer
• Ludwig Minelli (1932–2025), Swiss lawyer and euthanasia activist
• Ludwig Müller (1883–1945), German leader of the Protestant Reich Church
• Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen, German Lutheran missionary to North Sumatra, Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia), who translated the New Testament into the native Batak language; the first Ephorus (bishop) of the Batak Christian Protestant Church
• Ludwig Ortiz, Venezuelan judoka
• Ludwig Roselius (1874–1943), German coffee baron and company founder
• Ludwig Rödl, German chess master
• Ludwig Rübekeil, German philologist
• Ludwig Trepte, German actor
• Ludwig Zamenhof (1859–1917), creator of artificial language Esperanto

Fictional characters

• Ludwig von Drake, in Walt Disney cartoons and comic books
• Ludwig von Koopa, one of the Koopalings from the Mario franchise
• , otherwise known as Germany, in the anime series Axis Powers Hetalia
• Ludwig, in the video game Bloodborne
• Ludwig, the villain of the former Busch Gardens Williamsburg attraction The Curse of Darkastle
• Ludwig von Aegir, a major antagonist in ' and '
• Dr. Ludwig, otherwise known as the Medic, from Team Fortress 2
• Ludwig, a minor villain in The Cuphead Show

See also

• Ludwig (surname)
• Lothar
• Louis (given name), alternate version of the name

References