The first name Lucy
A girl’s name from Latin meaning “light”, “lucy in the sky with diamonds”.
Pronounced /ˈlusi/ 2 syllables Female Also a surname
Meaning and origin
Latin origin
Lucy means “light”, “lucy in the sky with diamonds” in Latin.
From Middle English Lucy, from Old French Lucie (notably after the Christian martyr Lucia of Syracuse), from Latin Lucia (feminine of Lucius, a Roman praenomen), from lux (“light”). The name of the Australopithecus skeleton came from the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, which was being played repeatedly at the dig site camp at the time of the discovery. The slang term for LSD also derives from the song name, which many believe is essentially a reference to the drug.
More names that mean light.
From Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity
Babies registered in England and Wales, 1996–2025
In 2025, 346 girls were named Lucy, making it the 143rd most popular girls’ name. It peaked in 1998, with 4,515 births (#10).
Office for National Statistics; years with fewer than three births are not published and show as zero. Compare Lucy with other names.
Popularity in the United States
Babies named Lucy at birth, 1880–2025
In 2025, 6,176 girls born in the United States were named Lucy, the 25th most popular girls’ name that year.
US Social Security Administration, from applications for a Social Security card. A name is only published for a year when at least five babies were given it, so quieter years show as zero.
Lucy in other languages
Equivalent forms of the name, from Wiktionary
Nicknames and spellings
Famous people named Lucy
133 on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Lucy LiuAmerican actress (born 1968)
- Lucy Maud MontgomeryCanadian writer (1874–1942)
- Lucy StoneAmerican abolitionist and suffragist (1818-1893)
- Lucy BronzeEnglish footballer (born 1991)
- Lucy Webb HayesFirst Lady of the United States from 1877 to 1881
- Lucy BoyntonBritish actress, born 1994
- Lucy ParsonsAmerican communist anarchist labor organizer (1853–1942)
- Lucy PunchBritish actress, born 1977
- Lucy FryAustralian actress, born 1992
- Lucy AyoubArab-Israeli television host and actress of paternal Palestinian descent, born 1992
- Lucy HawkingEnglish journalist and novelist, born 1970
- Lucy PinderBritish actress and model, born 1983
More Latin girls’ names
Questions
- What does the name Lucy mean?
- Lucy means “light”, “lucy in the sky with diamonds” in Latin.
- What is the origin of the name Lucy?
- From Middle English Lucy, from Old French Lucie (notably after the Christian martyr Lucia of Syracuse), from Latin Lucia (feminine of Lucius, a Roman praenomen), from lux (“light”). The name of the Australopithecus skeleton came from the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, which was…
- How popular is the name Lucy?
- In 2025, 346 girls born in England and Wales were named Lucy, ranking 143rd. Its peak was 1998, with 4,515 births.
- What are nicknames for Lucy?
- Common nicknames for Lucy include Lu.
- Is Lucy a boy's or a girl's name?
- Mostly a girl's name: 100% of the 237,613 US babies named Lucy since 1880 were girls.
- When was Lucy most popular?
- 2025 in the United States, when 6,176 babies were named Lucy, its highest rank at 25th.
- How do you pronounce Lucy?
- Lucy is /ˈlusi/, 2 syllables.
- What are other spellings of Lucy?
- Lucie.
- Is Lucy also a surname?
- Yes. Lucy is used as a surname as well as a first name; its surname page has the origin and how many people carry it.