Head to head · Boys' names
Lincoln vs Luka
#69 vs #85 in 2025
Lincoln is a whisker ahead (#69 vs #85 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Lincoln is stepping back from its peak, Luka is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Luka has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Lincoln leads 5 measures of 6; Luka leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Lincoln #623, Luka — — Lincoln higher
- 1890s: Lincoln #559, Luka — — Lincoln higher
- 1900s: Lincoln #583, Luka — — Lincoln higher
- 1910s: Lincoln #517, Luka — — Lincoln higher
- 1920s: Lincoln #543, Luka — — Lincoln higher
- 1930s: Lincoln #651, Luka — — Lincoln higher
- 1940s: Lincoln #703, Luka — — Lincoln higher
- 1950s: Lincoln #809, Luka — — Lincoln higher
- 1960s: Lincoln #700, Luka — — Lincoln higher
- 1970s: Lincoln #734, Luka #4930 — Lincoln higher
- 1980s: Lincoln #851, Luka #5342 — Lincoln higher
- 1990s: Lincoln #828, Luka #3541 — Lincoln higher
- 2000s: Lincoln #446, Luka #967 — Lincoln higher
- 2010s: Lincoln #93, Luka #523 — Lincoln higher
- 2020s: Lincoln #58, Luka #111 — Lincoln higher
Lincoln stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Lincoln | Luka |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #623 | — |
| 1890s | #559 | — |
| 1900s | #583 | — |
| 1910s | #517 | — |
| 1920s | #543 | — |
| 1930s | #651 | — |
| 1940s | #703 | — |
| 1950s | #809 | — |
| 1960s | #700 | — |
| 1970s | #734 | #4930 |
| 1980s | #851 | #5342 |
| 1990s | #828 | #3541 |
| 2000s | #446 | #967 |
| 2010s | #93 | #523 |
| 2020s | #58 | #111 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Lincoln
- Canada#67
Luka
- Canada#72
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Lincoln
Roman colony by the pool
The first element is Brittonic lindo, 'pool' — the Brayford Pool on the Witham; the second is Latin colonia, a settlement of Roman veterans. Together, Lindum Colonia, worn down over centuries to Lincoln.
Lindum Colonia → Lincoln (English city) → Lincoln (English surname) → Lincoln (given name)
How it traveled
The Romans founded a colonia at a Celtic settlement named for its pool, and the compound name survived the fall of the empire, Anglo-Saxon and Norse rule, and a thousand years of English speech to become the city and county of Lincoln. English families who lived there or came from there carried the place name as a surname, and it reached America with them in the colonial period.
Luka
From Lucania — a man from the region of Lucania in southern Italy
Greek Loukas, Latin Lucas, is generally read as a regional byname meaning 'from Lucania'. A popular secondary association ties it to Latin lux, 'light', which is appealing but not the etymology scholars accept.
Loukas → Lucas → Luca → Luka
How it traveled
The name begins as Greek Loukas, borne by the author of the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, and passes into Latin as Lucas. From there it spread with Christianity into every European language: Luke in English, Luca in Italian, Lukas in German, Lucas in Spanish and Portuguese.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Lincoln
LINK-un
The second l is silent — LINK-un, not LIN-coln. Stress falls on the first syllable. Speakers of languages that pronounce every letter often say LIN-koln at first.
- Linc — The standard short form in American use, informal, rarely given on its own.
- Link — A phonetic short form, informal; also a name in its own right and familiar from video games.
- Lin — Less common, informal within families; stands alone as a name in several other traditions.
Luka
LOO-kah
Stress on the first syllable, the final vowel open like the 'a' in 'sofa' or fuller as in Slavic speech. Identical in sound to the Italian Luca, which is why the two spellings are often confused in writing but never in conversation.
- Luka — Already short; in Croatia, Serbia and Georgia it functions as the full legal name and is rarely shortened further.
- Luke — Used in English-speaking settings as an anglicized everyday form, and stands alone as a given name in its own right.
- Luki — Informal diminutive heard in Slovenian and Croatian family use.
- Lukica — Croatian and Serbian affectionate diminutive, used within families rather than in public.
Who has carried each name
Lincoln
No documented entry for Lincoln yet.
Luka
Luka Dončić (b. 1999) — NBA superstar
Luka Modrić (b. 1985) — Ballon d'Or-winning midfield maestro
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Lincoln if you want…
- a name most people already know#69 in 2025, 4,703 babies that year
- a name past its most crowded yearsLincoln is stepping back from its peak
- a long American recordLincoln was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that feels very nowLincoln is stepping back from its peak
Choose Luka if you want…
- a name fewer children share#85 in 2025 — luka will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name on the way upup 76 places on the charts in five years
- a newer arrivalLuka entered the US charts in 1975
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 57% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 77% for Lincoln
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Lincoln
Strengths
- A spelling almost every English speaker already knows from maps, history books and coins, so it is written correctly on the first try.
- Two established short forms in genuine use, Linc and Link, without anyone needing to invent one.
- In continuous use as an American given name for well over a century, so it has a record rather than a moment.
To consider
- The presidential association is permanent and loud: pennies, the Memorial, the Gettysburg Address, a car brand, a toy log set. Your child will hear all of it.
- Almost everyone who carries it is a child, so it reads as distinctly young — there are very few adult Lincolns to grow into.
- Non-English speakers regularly say LIN-koln, since the silent second l is not obvious from the spelling.
Luka
Strengths
- Two syllables, no difficult sounds, and pronounced essentially the same in English, Italian, Spanish, Slavic languages and Georgian.
- Short enough that it needs no nickname, while Luke sits ready as an English everyday form.
- A documented record stretching back to Greek Loukas in the first century, so it is old rather than newly coined.
To consider
- Luka, Luca, Lucca and Lucas all sound close or identical aloud, so expect to spell it out fairly often and to see it written the other ways.
- The spelling is currently rising fast in the US, so the sense of it being uncommon may not hold by the time your child reaches high school.
- It is strongly associated right now with Croatian and Slovenian sports stars, which can mean a decade of the same joke for a boy who has no interest in football or basketball.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Lincoln
77%chance Lincoln feels dated by 2040
Lincoln is coming down from a big peak (#40 in 2020). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Luka
57%chance Luka feels dated by 2040
Luka is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Lincoln and Luka in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Lincoln and Luka?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Lincoln and Luka — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Lincoln or Luka — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Lincoln or Luka?
- Lincoln, in 2025: Lincoln ranked #69 with 4,703 babies; Luka ranked #85 with 3,873 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Lincoln or Luka?
- Luka. Over the last five years Lincoln moved down 29 places; Luka moved up 76 places.
- Which is the older name, Lincoln or Luka?
- Lincoln was already in use when US records began in 1880; Luka entered the US charts in 1975. On the American record, Lincoln is the older name.
- How many people are named Lincoln and Luka?
- About 100,000 people named Lincoln are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 29,000 people named Luka are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Lincolns or Lukas in the classroom?
- Lincoln will almost certainly be the only one in school. Luka will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Lincoln, Luka and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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