Lucas

Lucas is the Latin form of the Greek name Loukas, which name dictionaries generally explain as meaning “man from Lucania,” an ancient region of southern Italy. The Greek word cannot be traced to a certain root, so the meaning is often described as uncertain; a long-standing popular reading connects it to the Latin lux, “light,” but that is an association rather than a settled etymology. The name entered English through the Latin Bible, where Lucas stands for the evangelist, and it has been used in English-speaking countries since the Middle Ages alongside the shorter Luke.

It is pronounced LOO-kus, with the stress on the first syllable.

Its most enduring association is Saint Luke the Evangelist, traditionally credited with the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles and regarded as a patron saint of physicians and artists. Among contemporary namesakes, the American actor Lucas Black is familiar from the Fast and Furious films and from NCIS: New Orleans.

In the United States the name has shifted from uncommon to heavily used within a few decades. It ranked 231st in 1975 and 136th in 1978, then rose quickly through the 1980s and 1990s. It held 8th place from 2018 through 2022, its highest position, and in 2025 it ranked 10th, given to 10,219 boys.