How popular is the baby name Lucas in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Lucas.

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Popularity of the baby name Lucas


Posts that mention the name Lucas

Popular baby names in New York City, 2019

Flag of New York
Flag of New York

According to New York City’s Department of Health, the most popular baby names in the city in 2019 were Emma and Liam.

Here are New York City’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2019:

Girl Names

  1. Emma, 497 baby girls
  2. Olivia
  3. Sophia
  4. Mia
  5. Isabella
  6. Leah
  7. Ava
  8. Chloe
  9. Amelia
  10. Charlotte

Boy Names

  1. Liam, 764 baby boys
  2. Noah
  3. Ethan
  4. Jacob
  5. Lucas
  6. Aiden
  7. Daniel
  8. Michael
  9. David
  10. Matthew

How do these rankings compare to the 2019 rankings for New York state*?

  • The top girl name state-wide was Olivia, not Emma.
  • The top boy name was Liam for both regions.
  • In the state, the girls’ top 10 didn’t include Chloe, but did include Emily.
  • In the state, the boys’ top 10 didn’t include Aiden, Daniel, or David, but did include Joseph, James, and Alexander.

And how do they compare to the 2018 rankings for NYC?

  • The top two names, Emma and Liam, were the same both years. (Also in 2017.)
  • In 2019, Charlotte replaced Sarah in the girls’ top 10.
  • In 2019, Michael replaced Alexander in the boys’ top 10.

*New York state data provided by the SSA.

Source: Oh Baby! The Names Emma and Liam Are Tops for Tots in 2019 – NYC Health

Image: Adapted from Flag of New York (public domain)

Popular baby names in Saskatchewan (Canada), 2019

Flag of Saskatchewan
Flag of Saskatchewan

According to eHealth Saskatchewan, the most popular baby names in the province last year were (again) Olivia and Liam.

Here are Saskatchewan’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2019:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 62 baby girls
  2. Amelia, 55
  3. Sophia, 50
  4. Harper, 47
  5. Ava, 45
  6. Emma, 44
  7. Ella, 38
  8. Ellie, 36 (tie)
  9. Emily, 36 (tie)
  10. Aria, 35 (3-way tie)
  11. Brielle, 35 (3-way tie)
  12. Charlotte, 35 (3-way tie)

Boy Names

  1. Liam, 91 baby boys
  2. Noah, 61 (tie)
  3. William, 61 (tie)
  4. Jack, 56
  5. Benjamin, 47 (tie)
  6. Emmett, 47 (tie)
  7. Owen, 46
  8. Lucas, 45 (tie)
  9. Theodore, 45 (tie)
  10. Logan, 42

In the girls’ top 10, Amelia, Ellie, Aria and Brielle replaced Lily and Scarlett.

In the boys’ top 10, William, Emmett, Owen, Lucas and Theodore replaced Oliver, Jacob, Lincoln, James, and Hudson.

Source: Open Data and Public Reporting – eHealth Saskatchewan

Image: Adapted from Flag of Saskatchewan (public domain)

Popular baby names in Manitoba (Canada), 2019

According to Manitoba’s Vital Statistics Agency, the most popular baby names in the province last year were Olivia and Liam.

Here are Manitoba’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2019:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia
  2. Emily
  3. Ava
  4. Amelia
  5. Hannah
  6. Charlotte
  7. Sophia
  8. Emma
  9. Abigail
  10. Avery

Boy Names

  1. Liam
  2. Noah
  3. Lucas
  4. William
  5. Mason
  6. Ethan
  7. James
  8. Oliver
  9. Benjamin
  10. Carter

In the girls’ top 10, Hannah, Emma, and Avery replaced Chloe, Isabella and Sophie.

In the boys’ top 10, James, Oliver and Carter replaced Logan, Jacob, and Alexander.

In 2018, the top two names were Olivia and Liam. (My 2018 post for Manitoba ranks Lucas/Luke first for boys because it was based upon provisional data.)

Sources: Annual Report – Manitoba Vital Statistics Agency, 2019-2020 VSA Annual Report (PDF)

Where did the baby name Lucan come from in 1977?

Title of the TV series "Lucan" (1977-1978)

The name Lucan first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1977:

  • 1979: 21 baby boys named Lucan
  • 1978: 41 baby boys named Lucan
  • 1977: 16 baby boys named Lucan [debut]
  • 1976: unlisted
  • 1975: unlisted

The names Lucas and Luke were on the rise at the time, but the influence in this case was pop culture: Lucan, a television series that aired irregularly from mid-1977 to late 1978.

The show starred actor Kevin Brophy as Lucan, who’d been raised by wolves for the first 10 years of his life, then “civilized” in a university lab for the next 10 years. As a young man, he struck out on his own to solve the mystery of his identity.

In the show, the name “Lucan” was pronounced with equal stress on both syllables: loo-kan. Not like Duncan or Deacon, but like the name Lou followed by the verb can (“Lou can…”). The show’s creators likely based the name on the Ancient Greek word for “wolf,” which has been transliterated various ways (e.g., lukos, lykos, lukon, lykon).

Do you like the name Lucan? (Do you like it more or less than Lucas and Luke?)

Source: Strong’s Greek: 3074. lukos — a wolf