Lucas does yoga, Lucas crosses the street, Lucas likes to dance. But will Lucas influence baby names in New York City in 2014?
In December, advertisements for money-exchange app Venmo went up all over the NYC subway. The ads feature a Venmo software engineer named Lucas.
In January, the ads were mocked by Buzzfeed. They were called “aspie advertising” by Valleywag. They inspired one developer to create a ‘Lucas from Venmo’ Subway Ad Generator.
I don’t live in NYC, so I didn’t find out about these weirdly controversial ads until February, when Fast Company wrote about Lucas:
If you’ve ridden the New York City subway in the last two months, you know Lucas. You might hate him, but you know him. He’s the mustachioed man who stares at you from subway ads, never quite smiling, under a declaration of stuff he does: Lucas buys a round, Lucas takes the stairs, Lucas uses Venmo.
Fast Company said the “reviled” campaign “has drawn extreme reactions from subway riders, many of whom despise the Lucas ads. Who is Lucas? What is Venmo? Why is his half-stache so creepy?”
So now here’s my question: Do you think the ads will have any effect on the usage of the baby name Lucas in NYC? If so, what sort of effect?
In 2012, Lucas wasn’t one of NYC’s top 10 boy names overall, but it did rank 3rd among boys born to Asians and Pacific Islanders, who make up more than 10% of the city’s population.
Also in 2012, Lucas ranked 17th in New York state and 27th nationally — the highest it’s ever ranked in either region.
So do you think Lucas — which is already trending upward — will reach the top 10 in New York City in 2014? (If not, when?)
And, if it does reach the top 10, do you think Venmo’s “Lucas” ads will have had anything to do with it?
Source: Greenfield, Rebecca. “Lucas Talks To Fast Company: Reviled Venmo Subway Ads Explained.” Fast Company 7 Feb. 2014.
Image: Screenshot of Venmo advertisement
[Latest update: Nov. 2025]
What an interesting insight! I live in NYC and saw these ads constantly while they were up. I’ve never been a big fan of the name Lucas (I think mucus and lupus), but I thought the guy in the ad was attractive in a way that made Lucas seem fresh and cool. I realize it did change my perception of the name! So I doubt I’m alone. Luca seems more popular than Lucas among babies I know– Lucia and Lucy too– but I wouldn’t be surprised if all got an uptick in NYC from these ads.
I wonder how many NYC subway riders now like Lucas (and other Lu- names) more than they used to, but aren’t quite sure why. :)
NYC’s top baby names of 2013 were released a few days ago. Lucas is still not in the overall top 10, and it dropped to 4th among Asians & Pacific Islanders.
Update, Nov. 2025: Lucas finally entered NYC’s overall top ten in 2016, at #8, and it’s been there ever since.