# Lucian (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/lucian/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | “light” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈluː.sɪən/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 14,501 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 14,469 / 32 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,669, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Latin Lūcianus, either a derivative of the Roman praenomen Lūcius, from lūx (“light”); or from Ancient Greek Λουκιανός (Loukianós), of obscure meaning.

## What it means

Lucian is grouped under light.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1924 | 5 | 5,548 |
| 1929 | 5 | 4,991 |
| 1975 | 6 | 8,607 |
| 1977 | 5 | 10,555 |
| 2007 | 6 | 16,747 |
| 2014 | 5 | 18,137 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 419 | 596 |
| 2012 | 435 | 587 |
| 2013 | 393 | 626 |
| 2014 | 441 | 607 |
| 2015 | 422 | 633 |
| 2016 | 428 | 626 |
| 2017 | 469 | 579 |
| 2018 | 396 | 648 |
| 2019 | 398 | 665 |
| 2020 | 421 | 636 |
| 2021 | 469 | 594 |
| 2022 | 543 | 547 |
| 2023 | 613 | 489 |
| 2024 | 635 | 487 |
| 2025 | 670 | 462 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 80 | 467 |
| 2012 | 103 | 398 |
| 2013 | 75 | 500 |
| 2014 | 83 | 475 |
| 2015 | 90 | 450 |
| 2016 | 91 | 448 |
| 2017 | 95 | 443 |
| 2018 | 84 | 481 |
| 2019 | 79 | 493 |
| 2020 | 78 | 492 |
| 2021 | 86 | 471 |
| 2022 | 81 | 488 |
| 2023 | 96 | 411 |
| 2024 | 85 | 468 |
| 2025 | 85 | 452 |

## In other languages

- French: Lucien
- Italian: Luciano
- Polish: Lucjan
- Portuguese: Luciano
- Romanian: Lucian
- Russian: Лукья́н
- Spanish: Luciano
- Ukrainian: Лук'я́н

## People named Lucian

- Lucian of Samosata, 2nd-century Syrian satirist and rhetorician
- Lucian Freud, British painter and agravar (1922-2011)
- Lucian Sănmărtean, association football player from Romania
- Lucian of Antioch, Christian martyr, presbyter and theologian (died 312)
- Lucian Msamati, British actor
- Lucian Pulvermacher, American Catholic priest (1918–2009)
- Lucian Müller, German classical philologist (1836–1898)
- Lucian of Beauvais, Christian martyr
- Lucian M. Walkowicz, American stellar astronomer
- Lucian W. Parrish, American politician (1878-1922)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.