| Luca | Leonardo | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | From Lucania; light | Brave lion |
| Origin | Italian | italian |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | LOO-kah | leh-oh-NAR-doh |
| Syllables | 2 | 4 |
| First appeared | 1915 | 1885 |
| Peak year | 2025 (8,759) | 2019 (4,427) |
| In 2025 | 8,759 | 3,789 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Luca | Leonardo |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 44,138 | 24,361 |
| 2010s | 24,939 | 35,230 |
| 2000s | 7,233 | 19,490 |
| 1990s | 720 | 7,285 |
| 1980s | 252 | 3,194 |
| 1970s | 121 | 2,467 |
| 1960s | 48 | 1,400 |
| 1950s | 0 | 879 |
| 1940s | 5 | 526 |
| 1930s | 0 | 427 |
| 1920s | 41 | 508 |
| 1910s | 24 | 256 |
| 1900s | 0 | 38 |
| 1880s | 0 | 5 |
Luca is the Italian form of Luke, from the Greek Loukas, “from Lucania.” It is a top boys’ name in Italy and increasingly beyond.
Italian form of Leonard, from the Germanic elements 'lewo' (lion, borrowed from Latin 'leo') and 'hard' ('brave, hardy, strong'), giving 'brave as a lion'.
Luca is more popular than Leonardo today: about 8,759 US babies were given the name Luca in 2025, compared with 3,789 named Leonardo.
Luca means From Lucania; light (Italian origin), while Leonardo means Brave lion (italian origin).
In US records, Luca first appears in 1915 and Leonardo in 1885, so Leonardo has the longer recorded history.