| Luke | Philip | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | From Lucania; light | Lover of horses |
| Origin | Greek | greek |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | LOOK | FIL-ip |
| Syllables | 1 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2014 (10,523) | 1953 (6,279) |
| In 2025 | 6,948 | 0 |
| Trend | Steady | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Luke | Philip |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 44,149 | 3,713 |
| 2010s | 93,274 | 7,216 |
| 2000s | 90,506 | 10,193 |
| 1990s | 44,434 | 20,460 |
| 1980s | 27,044 | 35,733 |
| 1970s | 10,283 | 31,367 |
| 1960s | 4,071 | 44,780 |
| 1950s | 2,308 | 60,853 |
| 1940s | 1,298 | 48,735 |
| 1930s | 1,269 | 28,847 |
| 1920s | 1,699 | 27,268 |
| 1910s | 1,343 | 18,166 |
| 1900s | 498 | 2,817 |
| 1890s | 402 | 2,147 |
| 1880s | 442 | 1,741 |
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.
From the Greek Philippos, combining philos 'loving, dear, friend' with hippos 'horse' — literally 'lover of horses', not 'lover' in general. The phil- element genuinely means love/affection, but note the object is horses.
Luke is more popular than Philip today: about 6,948 US babies were given the name Luke in 2025, compared with 0 named Philip.
Luke means From Lucania; light (Greek origin), while Philip means Lover of horses (greek origin).
In US records, Luke first appears in 1880 and Philip in 0, so Philip has the longer recorded history.