FastNamesLucas
Latin and Greek name meaning "Derived from Latin Lucas and Greek Loukas (Λουκᾶς), meaning 'man from Lucania' (a region in southern Italy) or related to Latin lux ('light').". Ranked 10th for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Lucas
Derived from Latin Lucas and Greek Loukas (Λουκᾶς), meaning 'man from Lucania' (a region in southern Italy) or related to Latin lux ('light').
Linguistically, Lucas is classified under Latin and Greek naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "LOO-kuhs".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Lucas has been given to a total of 331,092 boys. It has also been given to 536 girls.
Peak year: Lucas reached its highest relative share among boys in 2017, when 13,032 babies received the name (7,041 per million births).
All-time best rank: 8th place, first achieved in 2018.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 10th with 10,219 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 16th (up 6 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named Lucas in the 2010s than in any other decade (118,661 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 41 |
| 1890s | 67 |
| 1900s | 55 |
| 1910s | 286 |
| 1920s | 403 |
| 1930s | 254 |
| 1940s | 256 |
| 1950s | 339 |
| 1960s | 857 |
| 1970s | 8,817 |
| 1980s | 26,088 |
| 1990s | 38,178 |
| 2000s | 70,995 |
| 2010s | 118,661 |
| 2020s | 65,795 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Lucas is most common in the US
Accounting for when Lucas was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- Vermont: 2.0 times the national rate (787 births since 1910).
- Maine: 1.9 times the national rate (1,881 births since 1910).
- New Hampshire: 1.7 times the national rate (1,741 births since 1910).
- Iowa: 1.6 times the national rate (5,046 births since 1910).
- North Dakota: 1.6 times the national rate (1,220 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Lucas?
About 324,000 living American boys and men share the name Lucas. Additionally, an estimated 530 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named Lucas is 14 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Lucas
Lucas is the Latin form of the Greek name Loukas (Λουκᾶς), traditionally understood as an ethnic byname denoting an inhabitant from Lucania, a mountainous ancient region of Magna Graecia in southern Italy (possibly derived from Greek leukos 'bright', 'white', or Latin lucus 'sacred grove'). In the New Testament, Saint Luke (Loukas in Greek, Lucas in the Vulgate) was the physician companion of the Apostle Paul and the traditionally credited author of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.
Widely used across medieval Europe in its vernacular forms (Luke in England, Luc in France, Luca in Italy), the Latin form Lucas remained standard in ecclesiastical records and northern European countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, and Spain. In art history, the name was borne by German Renaissance master Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472–1553).
In the United States, Lucas was a modest choice until the 1970s, when parents began gravitating toward classic, international names ending in -as. It entered the national top one hundred in 1993, vaulted into the top twenty in 2014, and reached an all-time peak at rank 8 nationwide in 2018, 2020, and 2021, celebrated for its cosmopolitan European appeal and soft, scholarly cadence.
Notable people named Lucas
- Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472–1553), German Renaissance painter and printmaker
- Lucas Moura (1992–), Brazilian professional footballer
- Lucas Hedges (1996–), American Academy Award-nominated actor
- Lucas Pouille (1994–), French professional tennis player
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 176.
- E. G. Withycombe. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), p. 197.
- Douglas Harper. Online Etymology Dictionary. Reference link.