Head to head · Boys' names
Lucas vs William
#10 vs #9 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
William is a whisker ahead (#9 vs #10 in 2025) and both are stepping back from its peak. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
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, William leads 5 measures of 6; Lucas leads 0.
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: Lucas #807, William #2 — William higher
- 1890s: Lucas #771, William #2 — William higher
- 1900s: Lucas #1058, William #2 — William higher
- 1910s: Lucas #1083, William #2 — William higher
- 1920s: Lucas #1122, William #3 — William higher
- 1930s: Lucas #1366, William #4 — William higher
- 1940s: Lucas #1391, William #4 — William higher
- 1950s: Lucas #1361, William #6 — William higher
- 1960s: Lucas #818, William #7 — William higher
- 1970s: Lucas #342, William #10 — William higher
- 1980s: Lucas #113, William #15 — William higher
- 1990s: Lucas #98, William #18 — William higher
- 2000s: Lucas #63, William #9 — William higher
- 2010s: Lucas #19, William #4 — William higher
- 2020s: Lucas #9, William #8 — William higher
William stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Lucas | William |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #807 | #2 |
| 1890s | #771 | #2 |
| 1900s | #1058 | #2 |
| 1910s | #1083 | #2 |
| 1920s | #1122 | #3 |
| 1930s | #1366 | #4 |
| 1940s | #1391 | #4 |
| 1950s | #1361 | #6 |
| 1960s | #818 | #7 |
| 1970s | #342 | #10 |
| 1980s | #113 | #15 |
| 1990s | #98 | #18 |
| 2000s | #63 | #9 |
| 2010s | #19 | #4 |
| 2020s | #9 | #8 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Lucas
- Canada#7
- France#19
- England & Wales#25
- Scotland#29
William
- Canada#5
- England & Wales#27
- Scotland#52
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Lucas
From Lucania, a region of southern Italy
Loukas is understood as a short form of the Latin Lucanus, 'man from Lucania'. The popular link to Latin lux, 'light', belongs to a different name, Lucius; the two have been mixed up for centuries but are not the same word.
Lucanus → Loukas → Lucas → Luke
How it traveled
The name begins as Greek Loukas, carried through the New Testament and the early church, then standardized in Latin as Lucas. Latin Christianity spread it across Europe, where each language kept its own shape: Luc in French, Luca in Italian, Łukasz in Polish, Lukas in German and the Nordic countries.
William
will, desire + helmet, protection
From the Germanic elements wil (will, resolve) and helm (helmet, protection) — often glossed together as "resolute protector".
Willahelm → Wilhelm → Willelm → William
How it traveled
The name begins in continental Germanic as Willahelm and spread widely in Frankish and Old High German territory as Wilhelm. The Normans carried their own form of it into England in the eleventh century, where William the Conqueror's victory in 1066 made it instantly fashionable among the Anglo-Norman ruling class; within a few generations it was among the commonest men's names in England.
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
Lucas
LOO-kus
Stress on the first syllable in English. Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking families give the second syllable a fuller vowel, closer to LOO-kahs, and French speakers say it closer to lu-KA.
- Luke — The English vernacular form of the same name, used informally for a Lucas and also given on its own as a full name.
- Luca — The Italian form, used casually by some families and independently popular as a given name of its own.
- Lu — Short and informal, mostly within the family.
- Lucky — A playful nickname built on the sound rather than the meaning; usually childhood-only.
William
WIL-yum
Stress on the first syllable. Two syllables in ordinary speech, sometimes drawn out to three (WIL-ee-um) in careful or formal delivery.
- Will — The most current short form, used informally and increasingly registered on its own.
- Liam — Originally the Irish short form of Uilliam; now overwhelmingly given as a full name in its own right rather than as a nickname for William.
- Bill — A long-standing informal form; strongly represented among older generations of Williams.
- Billy — Informal and affectionate, used for boys and men alike, and also given as a standalone name.
- Also Willie, Wills.
Who has carried each name
Lucas
Lucas Cranach the Elder (b. 1472) — Renaissance master painter
William
William Shakespeare (b. 1564) — The most famous writer who ever lived
William Blake (b. 1757) — Visionary poet and artist
William Butler Yeats (b. 1865) — Nobel Prize-winning Irish poet
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 Lucas if you want…
- a name that charts abroad tooLucas is on the national lists of Canada, France, England & Wales and Scotland
- a newer arrivalLucas entered the US charts in 1881
- a name that feels very nowLucas is stepping back from its peak
Choose William if you want…
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Will, Liam and Bill
- a long American recordWilliam was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 83% for Lucas
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
Lucas
Strengths
- Spelled the same way in Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and the Nordic languages, and understood without explanation in most of Europe.
- Comes with a ready-made short form in Luke, which has been the English everyday version of this name for centuries.
- A continuous written record from Greek Loukas through Latin Lucas — no reconstruction or guesswork involved.
To consider
- This is one of the most-used boys' names in the country right now. In a large school, sharing the name with another Lucas is a realistic possibility.
- People will reach for Luke, Luca and Lukas by reflex. Expect to correct the spelling on forms fairly often, even though the name itself is entirely familiar.
- Lucas is also a common English surname, so it is worth saying the full name aloud to check it doesn't sound like two last names.
William
Strengths
- Spelled and pronounced correctly on first hearing by virtually every English speaker, with no competing variant spellings to explain.
- An unbroken record in English since the eleventh century, and still given to babies now — long past the point where a name can date a person.
- Unusually rich in short forms: Will, Bill, Billy, Willie, Wills, each with real historical use, so the bearer has room to choose.
To consider
- It is genuinely common and always has been. Expect other Williams in the classroom, the workplace and quite possibly the extended family.
- You cannot fully control which short form sticks. Coaches, cousins and classmates may land on Bill, Billy or Willie regardless of what you use at home.
- Because it is so well established among older generations, many Williams alive today are grandfathers and great-grandfathers — lovely if you want that continuity, worth knowing if you don't.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Lucas
83%chance Lucas feels dated by 2040
Lucas is coming down from a big peak (#8 in 2018). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
William
12%chance William feels dated by 2040
William has held the top-100 across 15 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
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 Lucas and William 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 Lucas and William?
Put both to the vote.
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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
- Transatlantic hits: loved on both sides of the ocean
- America's top 100 names right now
- The top-10 club: every name that made it
- all guides
Every list here names both Lucas and William — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Lucas or William — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Lucas or William?
- William, in 2025: William ranked #9 with 10,545 babies; Lucas ranked #10 with 10,219 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Lucas or William?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Lucas moved down 2 places; William moved down 4 places.
- Which is the older name, Lucas or William?
- Lucas entered the US charts in 1881; William was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, William is the older name.
- How many people are named Lucas and William?
- About 324,000 people named Lucas are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 2,248,000 people named William are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Lucass or Williams in the classroom?
- Roughly 1 in 7 classrooms will have a child named Lucas. Roughly 1 in 6 classrooms will have a child named William.
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
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