Lucas
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Meaning
probably "from Lucania," a region of southern Italy; Latin Lucas comes through Greek Loukas, usually explained as a shortened form of Loukanos. A connection with Lucius has also been proposed; "light" is not an established direct meaning
The story
Lucas probably began as a name for someone from Lucania, a region of southern Italy. Latin Lucas continues Greek Loukas, usually explained as a shortened form of Loukanos, “from Lucania.” Another analysis connects Loukas with Lucius, so the geographic explanation remains likely rather than certain. “Light” is not an established direct translation of Lucas.
Luke is traditionally identified as the author of the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. The attribution is found in Christian tradition from the late second century. A Luke described as a physician appears in Paul’s letter to the Colossians; identifying him with the writer of these books is also traditional. The Gospel tells of Jesus’s life and teaching. Acts continues the account with the early Christian community, following its movement from Jerusalem into the wider Roman world, especially through Peter and Paul.
The saint’s renown helped spread the name through Christian communities in different forms. Luke and Lucas were both used in England from the twelfth century. Lucas is also an established spelling in Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, French and several Scandinavian languages; Italian Luca belongs to the same family. The different forms carry a shared religious history even where the spelling stayed the same.
How popular is Lucas around the world?
In the United States, 65,851 babies were named Lucas between 2020 and 2025. In Montevideo, 365 boys named Lucas were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
Lucas is on the official records of the United States, Montevideo, Chile, Norway, Brazil, Puerto Rico, South Australia, Canada, Scotland, France, Argentina, Spain, England and Wales, New Zealand, Ireland, New South Wales, Mexico City, Austria and Poland.
Lucas crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record, of a Spanish-speaking one and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full lists: English and Spanish · English and Portuguese · Spanish and Portuguese
United States
1 in 330
In the United States, 65,851 babies were named Lucas between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Lucas peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Montevideo City
1 in 672011
In Montevideo, 365 boys named Lucas were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Chile
1 in 87
In Chile, 2,058 boys were registered as Lucas in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Norway
1 in 120register 2026
In Norway, 225 boys were given the name Lucas in 2025.
share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Brazil
1 in 150
At the 2022 census, 1,341,525 people in Brazil were named Lucas, the 9th most common name, with a median age of 20.
Among people named Lucas living in Brazil at the 2022 census, roughly as many were born in the 1990s as in the 2000s, more than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 83,919 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Puerto Rico
1 in 160
In Puerto Rico, 112 babies were named Lucas in 2025, and 2,184 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
South Australia
1 in 2302017
In South Australia, 80 boys were registered as Lucas in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 310
In Canada, 1,183 boys named Lucas were born in 2024, the 7th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Scotland
1 in 310
In Scotland, 147 boys named Lucas were registered in 2024, the 23rd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
France
1 in 340
In France, about 1,875 boys named Lucas were born in 2025, the 19th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Argentina
1 in 400
In Argentina, 1,669 newborns were given the name Lucas in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Spain
#6 · 2024
In Spain, 66,041 residents are named Lucas, the 64th most common name among men, with a mean age of 15.6 years.
In Spain, Lucas was the 6th most common name among boys born in 2024.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
England and Wales
1 in 420
In England and Wales, 1,381 boys named Lucas were born in 2025, the 32nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
New Zealand
1 in 480
In New Zealand, 119 boys named Lucas were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Ireland
1 in 630
In Ireland, 86 boys named Lucas were born in 2025, the 64th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Lucas, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
New South Wales
#14 · 2025
In New South Wales, 261 boys named Lucas were registered in 2025, ranked 14th in that year’s top 100 for boys.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Mexico City City
1 in 1,700
In Mexico City, there were 71 registrations of Lucas in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (3 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Austria
1 in 2,100
In Austria, 37 boys named Lucas were born in 2025, the 173rd most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Poland
1 in 11,000
In Poland, 23 boys named Lucas were born in 2025, the 243rd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
When you meet Lucas
Most people given the name Lucas in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Lucas travels
Castilian · Sixth among names given to newborn boys in Spain in 2024.
Scandinavian · Probably "from Lucania," a region of southern Italy (used across Scandinavia and the United States).
Global crossover · Used in France, the United States and Brazil.
Keep exploring
Names like Lucas · Names that go with Lucas · Middle names for Lucas · Spanish baby names from Spain · Scandinavian baby names · Global crossover names
The Lucas deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Lucas truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Lucas fits with your family’s names and surname.
Questions about Lucas
Does Lucas really mean “light-bringer”?
No. Lucas is the Latin form of the Greek Loukas, most likely a short form of Loukanos, a man from Lucania in southern Italy. The link to Latin lux, light, is a later association that name books repeat; the standard etymology is the place, not the light.
What middle names go with Lucas?
Anthony (3 beats to Lucas's 2, so the pair keeps its rhythm), Antonio (4 beats to Lucas's 2, so the pair keeps its rhythm), and Mark (a single beat to anchor Lucas's 2). The full list, each pairing with its reason, is on the middle names page for Lucas.
Is Lucas too popular right now?
Lucas is popular right now, without being everywhere and still rising. In US Social Security records since 1890, its score for the 2020s is 7 out of 10, up from 3 in the 2000s. It peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure. Before the 2000s it appears in every decade of the published lists, from 55 boys in its thinnest decade to 38,178 in the 1990s.
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