Given name & surname
Luke
“man from Lucania”·“a man from Lucania”
Luke is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “man from Lucania” and “a man from Lucania” (Greek). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Original GreekΛουκ
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “man from Lucania” and “a man from Lucania” (Greek). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Greek.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Luke appears in Philemon 1:24, Colossians 4:14, 2 Timothy 4:11.
- Philemon 1:24
- Colossians 4:14
- 2 Timothy 4:11
From biblical name research
Luke through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 323,585
- 323,020 boys · 565 girls
- Most popular year
- 2014
- 10,536 babies
- 2025
- 6,957
- #33 for boys · #10,574 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −17%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6,948 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 33 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 17.5% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 10,523 in 2014. It also appeared in 9 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (815). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 267,180 as a first name in 2020; 17,362 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Luke’s family of names
In English usage, Luke has a diminutive in LOCKET. Luke shares a linguistic root with Lucas. In English usage, Luke has a conventional equivalent in the Swedish form Lukas.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Luke has relatives in 38 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.
29 related names in 38 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 8
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 36
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- ΛουκGreek
- ΛουκάςGreek
- Lucacognate · Italian, rup
- Lukacognate · Finnish, English
- Lukascognate · German, Danish
- LucieFrench
- Luciusequivalent
- Luckyequivalent
Show 28 moreShow fewer
- Lakeequivalent
- Loukasequivalent
- Lukaszcognate
- Luukequivalent
- Lukequivalent
- LuukasFinnish, Estonian
- Lukacscognate
- Lucjuszequivalent
- Lokeequivalent
- Лоукаequivalent
- Лукашequivalent
- Łukaequivalent
- ŁukaszPolish
- Lukášcognate · Czech, Slovak
- LúkasIcelandic
- Лукаrsk, Serbo-Croatian
- LukácsHungarian
- ЛюкRussian
- ലൂക്കോസ്Malayalam
- ლუკაGeorgian
- ՂուկասClassical Armenian, Armenian
- לוקאAramaic
- LlucCatalan
- ലൂക്കാMalayalam
- LúcásIrish
- LùcasScottish Gaelic
- ルークJapanese
- Lluchcognate
See also 4
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Luke
- Luke the Evangelistone of the four evangelists
- Luke ShawEnglish association football player (born 1995)
- Luke PerryAmerican actor (1966–2019)
- Luke EvansWelsh actor and singerborn 1979
- Luke WilsonAmerican actor (born 1971)
- Luke GrimesAmerican actorborn 1984
- Luke HemsworthAustralian actorborn 1980
- Luke BenwardAmerican actorborn 1995
- Luke YoungEnglish association football player, born 1979
Characters named Luke: Luke Skywalker (Star Wars), Luke Ward (fictional human), Luke Triton (the Professor Layton series).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Luke, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Lebbaeus
“courageous” · “sentimental”
>99% boys
Logos
“word” · “collection of statements”
>99% boys
Jude
“praised” · “one who praises God”
95% boys · 5% girls
Lysias
“deliverance”
>99% boys
Darius
“a kingly man; one who is wealthy”
>99% boys
Pilate
“freedman”
>99% boys
Eliud
“my God is majestic”
>99% boys
Lysanias
“ending sorrow” · “the end of grief”
80% boys · 20% girls