Head to head · Boys' names
Luke vs Thomas
#33 vs #34 in 2025
Luke is a whisker ahead (#33 vs #34 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Luke is holding its place on the charts, Thomas is back after a long quiet spell. On momentum, Thomas 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, Thomas leads 3 measures of 6; Luke leads 2.
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: Luke #249, Thomas #10 — Thomas higher
- 1890s: Luke #285, Thomas #12 — Thomas higher
- 1900s: Luke #287, Thomas #11 — Thomas higher
- 1910s: Luke #403, Thomas #10 — Thomas higher
- 1920s: Luke #465, Thomas #11 — Thomas higher
- 1930s: Luke #514, Thomas #9 — Thomas higher
- 1940s: Luke #553, Thomas #8 — Thomas higher
- 1950s: Luke #495, Thomas #8 — Thomas higher
- 1960s: Luke #389, Thomas #10 — Thomas higher
- 1970s: Luke #249, Thomas #21 — Thomas higher
- 1980s: Luke #109, Thomas #24 — Thomas higher
- 1990s: Luke #88, Thomas #28 — Thomas higher
- 2000s: Luke #46, Thomas #43 — Thomas higher
- 2010s: Luke #33, Thomas #55 — Luke higher
- 2020s: Luke #33, Thomas #42 — Luke higher
Thomas stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Luke has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Luke | Thomas |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #249 | #10 |
| 1890s | #285 | #12 |
| 1900s | #287 | #11 |
| 1910s | #403 | #10 |
| 1920s | #465 | #11 |
| 1930s | #514 | #9 |
| 1940s | #553 | #8 |
| 1950s | #495 | #8 |
| 1960s | #389 | #10 |
| 1970s | #249 | #21 |
| 1980s | #109 | #24 |
| 1990s | #88 | #28 |
| 2000s | #46 | #43 |
| 2010s | #33 | #55 |
| 2020s | #33 | #42 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Luke
- Canada#39
- Scotland#70
Thomas
- Canada#10
- Scotland#21
- England & Wales#26
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Luke
From Lucania — a region of southern Italy
The Greek Loukas is generally read as a short form of Loukanos, 'man from Lucania', the ancient district in the south of the Italian peninsula. A separate popular association ties the name to Latin lux, 'light', because the two look alike; that connection is affectionate rather than linguistic.
Loukas → Lucas → Luk → Luke
How it traveled
The name begins in Greek as Loukas, a name of the kind Romans and Greeks used to mark where a person came from. It traveled into Latin as Lucas and then across Christian Europe attached to the evangelist Luke, credited with the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles.
Thomas
twin
Aramaic te'oma, a twin. The Gospel of John glosses it with the Greek word for the same thing, Didymos, which is how the meaning is known with certainty rather than reconstructed. Nobody records whose twin he was.
te'oma → Thomas
How it traveled
The Nag Hammadi find changed the study of early Christianity. The Thomas text has no narrative, no crucifixion and no resurrection — only sayings, about half of which have parallels in the familiar Gospels and half of which do not — and scholars have argued ever since about whether it preserves early material or reworks it.
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
Luke
LOOK
One syllable with a long vowel, as in 'duke' and 'spook' — not the short vowel of 'look'. English, Canadian and Scottish speakers all say it the same way, and the German Lukas or French Luc are near enough that the name survives a border crossing intact.
- Luke — Widely used as the everyday short form of Lucas and Lucian, as well as standing alone as a full given name in its own right.
- Lukey — Informal and mostly domestic, used within families and in early childhood rather than on paper.
Thomas
TOM-us
Two syllables, stress on the first, with the th said as a plain t. French says it the same way; Spanish moves the weight to the second, to-MAS. The h has been silent in English for centuries.
- Tom — The default in English; plain, adult, and a full name in its own right for many men.
- Tommy — The warm form; also British army slang for an ordinary soldier.
- Tomas — The Spanish and Irish form, used as a formal version in those families.
Who has carried each name
Luke
Luke Perry (b. 1966) — Beverly Hills, 90210 heartthrob
Luke Evans (b. 1979) — The Hobbit and Beauty and the Beast star
Thomas
Thomas Edison (b. 1847) — Held over 1,000 patents, including the light bulb
Thomas Jefferson (b. 1743) — Wrote the Declaration of Independence
Thomas Paine (b. 1737) — His pamphlet Common Sense sparked a revolution
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 Luke if you want…
- a name holding steadyLuke is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesLuke is 1 syllable to Thomas's 2
- a name that feels very nowLuke is holding its place on the charts
Choose Thomas if you want…
- a name on the way upup 11 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itThomas runs 2 syllables, Luke 1
- a name that charts abroad tooThomas is on the national lists of Canada, Scotland and England & Wales
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 40% for Luke
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
Luke
Strengths
- One syllable, spelled the way it sounds. Almost nobody asks how to write it, and almost nobody gets it wrong on a form.
- An unbroken written record in English since the medieval Bible translations, and in Greek and Latin for centuries before that.
- Has a ready equivalent in most European languages — Lucas, Luc, Luca, Lukas, Łukasz — so relatives abroad have a version to use.
To consider
- It is already as short as it goes. There is no formal long version to fall back on and no real nickname territory, which suits some families and frustrates others.
- Luke, Lucas, Luca and Lukas all circulate at once. Expect occasional corrections, and expect a room to feel fuller of similar sounds than it strictly is.
- The Star Wars connection is permanent for a great many people, and will draw the odd comment for a lifetime. Most bearers find it wears down to background noise.
Thomas
Strengths
- A meaning the source text states outright rather than leaving to be reconstructed.
- The same or nearly the same spelling in French, Spanish, Irish, Portuguese and German.
- Three short forms, one of which is a full name in its own right.
To consider
- It is one of the most given names in the English-speaking world and has been for centuries.
- Tom is what most people will use, so it is worth liking the short form.
- The phrase about doubting will be made at some point, usually as a joke.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Luke
40%chance Luke feels dated by 2040
Luke sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Thomas
12%chance Thomas feels dated by 2040
Thomas 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 Luke and Thomas 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
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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 Luke and Thomas — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Luke or Thomas — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Luke or Thomas?
- Luke, in 2025: Luke ranked #33 with 6,948 babies; Thomas ranked #34 with 6,917 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Luke or Thomas?
- Thomas. Over the last five years Luke moved down 2 places; Thomas moved up 11 places.
- Which is the older name, Luke or Thomas?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Luke and Thomas?
- About 310,000 people named Luke are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 1,497,000 people named Thomas are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Lukes or Thomass in the classroom?
- Roughly 1 in 10 classrooms will have a child named Luke. Roughly 1 in 10 classrooms will have a child named Thomas.
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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