Baby Name: Luka

In 1987, the traditionally male name Luka — which had been absent from the U.S. baby name data for a couple of years — didn’t just return to the data as a boy name, but debuted with even higher usage as a girl name:

Why?

Because of the song “Luka” by singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega.

Despite the weighty subject matter (child abuse), the song became Vega’s most successful single, reaching #3 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in August and earning three Grammy nominations (Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance).

“Luka” is sung from the point of view of a young abuse victim named Luka. Though Luka’s gender isn’t specified in the lyrics, a young boy plays the part of Luka in the music video:

(This video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video, btw.)

When Vega’s then-manager asked her where she got the name, Vega answered:

A 9-year-old boy who lives in my building. Who is not abused, by the way. I like the name Luka, it’s universal. It could be a girl or boy and it could be any nationality.

A handful of U.S. parents clearly agreed with Vega regarding Luka’s gender-neutral nature back in 1987. Since then, though, the name gone back to seeing higher usage for baby boys.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Luka? Do you prefer it as a boy name or as a girl name?

Sources:

• Suzanne Vega – Billboard.com
• Suzanne Vega – Wikipedia
• Vega, Suzanne. “Surviving the Hits.” New York Times 18 Jun. 2008.
• SSA

P.S. A similar thing happened to the name Nico two decades earlier…