boy's name
Luc
LOOK
- Origin French
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 3
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 72,676
Northern Ireland
#358
2011 births
Luc means from Lucania, an Italian region — so the name is a place rather than the light it is usually said to mean, and the light reading comes from confusion with a separate Latin word.
- Luc is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 1964, when 2,125 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 13,100 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Luc over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 500 |
| 1910s | 535 |
| 1920s | 1,165 |
| 1930s | 1,880 |
| 1940s | 4,385 |
| 1950s | 15,330 |
| 1960s | 18,340 |
| 1970s | 7,440 |
| 1980s | 4,700 |
| 1990s | 5,355 |
| 2000s | 3,835 |
| 2010s | 1,735 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 360 |
What Luc means
Luc means a man of Lucania, a region of southern Italy. The light reading commonly given comes from association with the Latin lux and is not the name's origin.
Where Luc comes from
Luc is the French Luke, from the Latin Lucanus — a man from Lucania, the region in the arch of Italy's foot. The light gloss comes from lux and is a false connection, though a persistent one. Luke wrote the third Gospel and Acts, which together make up more of the New Testament than any other author, and he is patron of physicians and of painters. Lucania's own name may derive from a word for a wood or for light-bearing.
Luc in use
Luc peaked in France in 1964, when 2,125 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in four of the seven markets we track — 911th in France on 45 births, 1372nd in Canada, 3497th in the United States on 35 and 6357th in England and Wales — across 72,676 lifetime births. Our records carry it from 1900.
How popular is Luc?
In 2025, Luc was given to 45 babies in France, ranking #911 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Luc is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
How Luc is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Lúc | Lúc is a rare spelling of Luc, written with a fada and recorded 3 times, mostly in Ireland. | 3 |
Names that peaked alongside Luc
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Luc also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Luc over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Luc in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Luc
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Luc — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Luc
What does the name Luc mean?
A man of Lucania, a region of southern Italy.
Does Luke mean light?
No. That comes from confusion with the Latin lux. Lucanus is a regional byname.
How much of the New Testament did Luke write?
The third Gospel and Acts together — more than any other single author.
How popular is Luc?
911th in France, down from a 1964 peak of 2,125 births.
Is Luc a girl's or a boy's name?
Luc is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Luc?
Luc has 1 syllable.
Is Luc a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Luc currently ranks #911 in France. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.