Top 40 US name Boys' name Peak 2014 316,031 births

Luke — #34 US boys' name

316,031 babies named Luke in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2014. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s4421890s4021900s4981910s13431920s16991930s12691940s12981950s23081960s40721970s102841980s270521990s444362000s905032010s932632020s37162
#34
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 99.8% of names given to boys today.

2010s
Peak decade

30% of everyone ever named Luke was born in this single decade.

2014
Single peak year

10,521 babies were named Luke in 2014 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Luke

The Social Security Administration has registered 316,031 babies named Luke between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Luke currently holds the #34 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 2014, when 10,521 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Luke performed strongest in the 2010s, accumulating 93,263 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Luke shows notable generational variation in parental adoption. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 30,375 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Luke in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Luke in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 316,031 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Luke at a glance

Top 100 boys' name

Total births

316,031

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

2014

10,521 births that year

Strongest decade: 2010s

Current rank

#34

In the top 100

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Luke popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 100 boys' name
Peak year (2014)
10,521
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-5,00005,00010,00015,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 43

Luke popularity over time — girls

556 total births recorded since 1970 (Luke as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 556 births
010203040 20242016200820011994198719801970 6

Luke by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 2010s
Peak decade
2010s
93,263 births that decade — 30% of Luke's all-time total
1880s4421890s4021900s4981910s13431920s16991930s12691940s12981950s23081960s40721970s102841980s270521990s444362000s905032010s932632020s37162

Luke by state

Where Luke concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Luke
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
30,375 9.6%
#2 Texas
27,928 8.8%
#3 Pennsylvania
15,947 5.0%
#4 New York
15,747 5.0%
#5 Ohio
14,429 4.6%
#6 Florida
13,374 4.2%
#7 Illinois
13,078 4.1%
#8 Michigan
11,193 3.5%
California share of Luke's total US births 9.6%
Even split

30,375 of 316,031 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Luke appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Luke?
316,031 babies have been named Luke since 1880. It currently ranks #34 among boys. The peak year was 2014 with 10,521 births.
When was Luke most popular?
Luke was most popular in the 2010s decade with 93,263 total births. The single peak year was 2014.
Where is Luke most popular?
The top states for the name Luke are California (30,375 births), Texas (27,928 births), Pennsylvania (15,947 births).
How long has the name Luke been used?
Luke has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Luke?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Lukas, Luka, Lukus, Lukah, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Luke

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.