| Elias | Luke | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | The Lord is my God | From Lucania; light |
| Origin | Greek | Greek |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | ee-LY-us | LOOK |
| Syllables | 3 | 1 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 2025 (8,837) | 2014 (10,523) |
| In 2025 | 8,837 | 6,948 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Elias | Luke |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 42,605 | 44,149 |
| 2010s | 40,925 | 93,274 |
| 2000s | 19,617 | 90,506 |
| 1990s | 8,856 | 44,434 |
| 1980s | 4,479 | 27,044 |
| 1970s | 2,962 | 10,283 |
| 1960s | 1,774 | 4,071 |
| 1950s | 1,547 | 2,308 |
| 1940s | 1,227 | 1,298 |
| 1930s | 1,355 | 1,269 |
| 1920s | 1,766 | 1,699 |
| 1910s | 1,144 | 1,343 |
| 1900s | 254 | 498 |
| 1890s | 302 | 402 |
| 1880s | 450 | 442 |
Elias is the Greek and Latin form of Elijah, from the Hebrew for “my God is Yahweh.” It appears in the New Testament and is used across Europe.
Luke is the English form of the Greek Loukas, “from Lucania,” a region of southern Italy. Luke the Evangelist, a physician, wrote the third Gospel and the Book of Acts.
Elias is more popular than Luke today: about 8,837 US babies were given the name Elias in 2025, compared with 6,948 named Luke.
Elias means The Lord is my God (Greek origin), while Luke means From Lucania; light (Greek origin).
In US records, Elias first appears in 1880 and Luke in 1880, so Elias has the longer recorded history.