Boys' name · since 1880

Luke

Since 1880, U.S. Social Security records show 323,020 babies named Luke, peaking in 2014. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.

#108 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#33 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
323,020
born since 1880
2010s
peak decade

Luke currently ranks #33 among boys' names in America, with 323,020 babies recorded since 1880.

Social Security Administration records show Luke recorded 323,020 times among boys since 1880, holding rank #33 nationally today, ahead of 99.8% of boys, peaking in the 2010s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.

  • #108 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #33 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 323,020 born since 1880
  • 2010s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Luke ranks #108 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #33 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 323,020 born since 1880, peaking in the 2010s.

#108 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#33 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
323,020
born since 1880
2010s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%99.7%
Luke vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Luke's 323,020 recorded births place it above 99.76% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

51 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.

How Luke compares

323,020 Top 1% higher than 99% of 13,930 names currently given to boys

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.

Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data

How the numbers stack up

Luke's all-time total is 875x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Luke Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 323,020 369 358,536
Peak-year births 10,523 34 22,252

Luke's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Splitting Luke's full recorded timeline at 1953, 98% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 2% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1891, with just 23 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2014 peak of 10,523 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.

Luke popularity over time - boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025

Top 100 boys' name
Peak year (2014)
10,523
Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
05,00010,00015,000 188018991918193719561975199420132025 6,948

Luke popularity over time - girls

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

Unisex variant - 565 births
010203040 19701981198819952002201020172025 9

Luke by decade

2010s is the heaviest window (93,274 births, 29% of the file).

2010s was Luke's strongest decade.

93,274 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 29% of all-time use.

Luke births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 2010s at 93,274 births (29% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Luke compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Luke's total volume

Luke vs 15 similarly-sized boys names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 1%2%3%4%5%6% 80100120140160 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -146, 3.6%-146, 2.3%-146, 4.2%-111, 5%-146, 1.3%-146, 1.9%-126, 2.5%-145, 3.9%-146, 3.1%-146, 2.3%-144, 4.1%-146, 1.9%-146, 3.7%-146, 2.2%-95, 4.2%Luke-146, 3.3%Luke
Luke vs 15 similarly-sized boys names

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
31,117 9.6%
#2 Texas
28,756 8.9%
#3 Pennsylvania
16,237 5.0%
#4 New York
16,027 5.0%
#5 Ohio
14,677 4.5%
#6 Florida
13,838 4.3%
#7 Illinois
13,255 4.1%
#8 Michigan
11,378 3.5%
California share of Luke's total US births 9.6%
Even split

31,117 of 323,020 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? ▼
323,020 babies have been named Luke since 1880. All-time, it sits at #108 of 45,481 boys' names by recorded births. In 2025, it ranks #33 of 13,930 among boys. The peak year was 2014 with 10,523 births.
Where does Luke sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Luke ranks #108 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #33 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Luke most popular? ▼
Luke was most popular in the 2010s decade with 93,274 total births. The single peak year was 2014.
Where is Luke most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Luke are California (31,117 births), Texas (28,756 births), Pennsylvania (16,237 births).
How long has the name Luke been used? ▼
Records for Luke go back to 1880, giving 146 years of history through 2025.
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.

What to do with Luke's data

  • Luke's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (93,274 total births) through the 2020s (44,149) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
  • California records the most Lukes (31,117 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Luke

Nearby Names Like Luke

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Luke

Lukas Boy
#288 44,053 births
Luka Boy
#85 28,959 births
Lukus Boy
#6913 980 births
Lukah Boy
#2276 833 births
Lukasz Boy
#4466 711 births

Compare Luke side by side: Luke vs Lukas Luke vs Luka Luke vs Lukus

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar popularity rank to Luke

Matthew #32
1,654,075 births · Peak 1983
Thomas #34
2,358,576 births · Peak 1952
Owen #31
245,644 births · Peak 2016
David #35
3,676,654 births · Peak 1955
Alexander #30
736,123 births · Peak 1993
Jackson #36
297,220 births · Peak 2013
Joseph #29
2,669,490 births · Peak 1956
Gabriel #37
395,778 births · Peak 2008

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Luke: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).

Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Luke draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.