Save Gender Feminine Usage Portuguese, Spanish, German Pronounced Pron. MA-loo(Portuguese, German) [key] Meaning & History Portuguese contraction of Maria Luísa, Maria de Lurdes and Maria Lúcia, Spanish contraction of María Luisa and German contraction of Marie Luise. The prime minister of the German state Rheinland-Pfalz, Malu Dreyer, bears this name.