boys' name ★ peaked 2014

Luke

Meaning From Latin Lūcās, from Koine Greek Λουκᾶς (Loukâs) Gender Boy Rank 2025 #33 Trend ↓ Falling 11%

From Latin Lūcās, from Koine Greek Λουκᾶς (Loukâs).

Rank 2025
#33
among boys · ↑1 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
6,957
named Luke · -2% vs 2024
How common
1 in 246
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2014
10,536 babies
All-time total
323,585
#108 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Luke popularity over time

323,585 babies have been named Luke since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
1.883.755.637.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 442 442 44 – #234
1890s – 402 402 40 -9% #248
1900s – 498 498 50 +24% #243
1910s – 1,343 1,343 134 +170% #294
1920s – 1,699 1,699 170 +27% #425
1930s – 1,269 1,269 127 -25% #438
1940s – 1,298 1,298 130 +2% #533
1950s – 2,308 2,308 231 +78% #425
1960s – 4,071 4,071 407 +76% #367
1970s 46 10,283 10,329 1,033 +154% #110
1980s 178 27,044 27,222 2,722 +164% #97
1990s 93 44,434 44,527 4,453 +64% #67
2000s 128 90,506 90,634 9,063 +104% #41
2010s 84 93,274 93,358 9,336 +3% #28
2020s (to 2025) 36 44,149 44,185 7,364 -21% #31

Where Luke is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 6,809 3.99 #35
2027 6,693 3.92 #36
2028 6,596 3.86 #36
2029 6,514 3.81 #38
2030 6,446 3.77 #39

Where Luke is most popular

Boys named Luke per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 4.21 per 1,000. Strongest in Hawaii, Wyoming, and Alaska.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Luke born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Hawaii 165 10.6 +152%
Wyoming 59 10.2 +142%
Alaska 102 8.56 +103%
Vermont 50 7.96 +89%
Delaware 110 7.25 +72%
Idaho 293 7.16 +70%
Louisiana 723 7.07 +68%
Montana 117 6.63 +58%
New Hampshire 147 6.62 +57%
Connecticut 445 6.57 +56%
North Dakota 112 6.56 +56%
Rhode Island 106 6.50 +54%
Utah 607 6.36 +51%
New Mexico 205 6.22 +48%
Arkansas 375 5.93 +41%
Oklahoma 521 5.89 +40%
Virginia 1,112 5.86 +39%
District of Columbia 84 5.69 +35%
North Carolina 1,426 5.58 +33%
Kansas 382 5.57 +32%
South Dakota 103 5.54 +31%
Pennsylvania 1,413 5.32 +26%
Nebraska 229 5.27 +25%
Michigan 1,077 5.26 +25%
Massachusetts 719 5.23 +24%
New Jersey 1,037 5.15 +22%
South Carolina 527 5.10 +21%
Tennessee 920 5.10 +21%
Ohio 1,346 5.08 +21%
Texas 4,456 5.06 +20%
Kentucky 503 5.01 +19%
Colorado 641 4.97 +18%
West Virginia 161 4.93 +17%
Missouri 680 4.91 +17%
Florida 2,300 4.86 +15%
Alabama 529 4.84 +15%
Oregon 366 4.82 +15%
Arizona 788 4.82 +14%
Nevada 271 4.75 +13%
Maine 92 4.74 +13%
Mississippi 257 4.52 +7%
Maryland 538 4.51 +7%
Georgia 1,119 4.42 +5%
Washington 722 4.41 +5%
Iowa 304 4.41 +5%
California 4,003 4.38 ≈ national
Indiana 700 4.37 ≈ national
Wisconsin 462 3.90 -7%
Illinois 966 3.78 -10%
Minnesota 462 3.77 -11%
New York 1,533 3.54 -16%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Luke

Luke is a top-50 name for boys in the United States, ranked #33 in 2025 with 6,948 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 323,585 American babies have been named Luke. Its peak came in 2014, when 10,536 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Luke stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Luke?

The median living Luke is about 18 years old; half are between 9 and 27. An estimated 311 thousand people named Luke are alive in the United States today.

median 18 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Luke year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 9 #10,574 6,948 #33
2024 7 #12,926 7,062 #34
2023 – – 7,251 #31
2022 7 #13,050 7,393 #34
2021 7 #12,977 7,711 #32
2020 6 #14,438 7,784 #31
2019 10 #10,182 8,442 #32
2018 9 #11,084 8,624 #30
2017 6 #15,212 9,224 #30
2016 11 #9,813 10,001 #29
2015 8 #12,517 10,294 #28
2014 13 #8,773 10,523 #28
2013 5 #18,203 9,588 #34
2012 8 #12,937 9,022 #37
2011 8 #12,902 8,706 #39
2010 6 #16,169 8,850 #41
2009 – – 8,625 #47
2008 11 #10,504 9,424 #43
2007 7 #14,848 9,609 #46
2006 13 #9,063 10,087 #43
2005 16 #7,355 10,011 #41
2004 36 #3,958 9,598 #41
2003 15 #7,435 9,304 #46
2002 9 #10,729 8,692 #46
2001 16 #6,839 8,008 #50
2000 5 #16,527 7,148 #59
1995 6 #12,694 4,629 #82
1990 7 #10,895 2,883 #118
1985 19 #4,217 2,741 #106
1980 21 #3,788 3,109 #97
1975 – – 778 #256
1970 6 #7,596 535 #351
1965 – – 400 #392
1960 – – 426 #384
1955 – – 219 #500
1950 – – 170 #516
1945 – – 116 #557
1940 – – 116 #548
1935 – – 121 #526
1930 – – 141 #503
1925 – – 165 #470
1920 – – 166 #472
1915 – – 157 #432
1910 – – 71 #294
1905 – – 53 #271
1900 – – 70 #243
1895 – – 53 #248
1890 – – 42 #269
1885 – – 50 #234
1880 – – 43 #256

Famous people named Luke

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Luke Grimes Luke Grimes American actor and musician (born 1984) Contemporary
  2. 2 Luke Evans Luke Evans Welsh actor and singer (born 1979) Contemporary
  3. 3 Luke Wilson Luke Wilson American actor (born 1971) Contemporary
  4. 4 Luke Perry Luke Perry American actor (1966–2019) Contemporary
  5. 5 Luke Hemsworth Luke Hemsworth Australian actor (born 1980) Contemporary
  6. 6 Luke Macfarlane Luke Macfarlane Canadian actor (born 1980) Contemporary
  7. 7 Luke Bracey Luke Bracey Australian actor (born 1989) Contemporary
  8. 8 Luke Bryan Luke Bryan American country singer (born 1976) Contemporary
  9. 9 Luke Treadaway Luke Treadaway British actor (born 1984) Contemporary
  10. 10 Luke Benward Luke Benward American actor & singer (born 1995) Contemporary
  11. 11 Luke Pasqualino British actor (born 1990) Contemporary
  12. 12 Luke the Evangelist Luke the Evangelist One of the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical gospels 31–84 · Antiquity
  13. 13 Luke Kleintank Luke Kleintank American actor (born 1990) Contemporary
  14. 14 Luke Kirby Luke Kirby American-Canadian actor b. 1978 · Contemporary
  15. 15 Luke Mitchell Luke Mitchell Australian actor (born 1985) Contemporary
  16. 16 Luke Walton Luke Walton American basketball coach and player (born 1980) Contemporary
  17. 17 Luke Kelly Luke Kelly Irish folk singer (1940–1984) Contemporary
  18. 18 Luke Mably English actor b. 1976 · Contemporary
  19. 19 Luke Ford Luke Ford Australian actor (born 1981) Contemporary
  20. 20 Luke Askew Luke Askew American actor (1932–2012) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Luke, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Luke?

The median living Luke is about 18 years old. Half of all living Lukes are between 9 and 27 years old.

How many people named Luke are alive today?

An estimated 311 thousand people named Luke are alive in the United States, based on 323,585 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Luke mean?

From Latin Lūcās, from Koine Greek Λουκᾶς (Loukâs).

How popular is the name Luke in 2025?

Luke ranked #33 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 6,948 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Luke?

323,585 babies have been named Luke in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Luke most popular?

Luke peaked in 2014, when 10,536 newborns received the name.

Is Luke a boy or girl name?

Luke is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Luke rising or falling?

Luke is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Luke become more popular?

Luke is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 6,446 boys named Luke in 2030, which would rank around #39. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Luke?

Well-known people named Luke include Luke Grimes (actor), Luke Evans (actor), Luke Wilson (actor).

Names like Luke

Names that sound and feel close to Luke: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Luke with similar names → More names starting with L →