| Julian | Lucas | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Youthful | Light-bringing; from Lucania |
| Origin | Latin | Latin |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | JOO-lee-un | LOO-kus |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1881 |
| Peak year | 2017 (8,455) | 2017 (13,032) |
| In 2025 | 7,603 | 10,219 |
| Trend | Steady | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Julian | Lucas |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 44,640 | 65,795 |
| 2010s | 79,530 | 118,661 |
| 2000s | 60,391 | 70,995 |
| 1990s | 27,674 | 38,178 |
| 1980s | 12,933 | 26,088 |
| 1970s | 6,800 | 8,817 |
| 1960s | 4,835 | 857 |
| 1950s | 4,827 | 339 |
| 1940s | 5,157 | 256 |
| 1930s | 4,860 | 254 |
| 1920s | 6,897 | 403 |
| 1910s | 4,650 | 286 |
| 1900s | 793 | 55 |
| 1890s | 558 | 67 |
| 1880s | 440 | 41 |
Julian comes from the Latin Julianus, from the family name Julius. Borne by saints and by the Roman emperor known as Julian the Apostate.
Lucas is the Latin form of Luke, from Loukas — most often understood as “from Lucania” in southern Italy, and popularly associated with the Latin lux, “light.”
Lucas is more popular than Julian today: about 10,219 US babies were given the name Lucas in 2025, compared with 7,603 named Julian.
Julian means Youthful (Latin origin), while Lucas means Light-bringing; from Lucania (Latin origin).
In US records, Julian first appears in 1880 and Lucas in 1881, so Julian has the longer recorded history.