Locke
A name of Norman origin meaning "lock of hair".
Name Census estimates that about 957 living Americans carry the first name Locke. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Locke today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Locke births was 2016 (74 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Locke. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Locke with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
957
~ 1 in 358,155 Americans
Peak year
2016
74 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,487
Tracked since 1916
Census
Locke in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 839 people with the first name Locke, which placed it at #14,135 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#14,135
National first-name rank
People counted
839
839 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Locke
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Locke is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.0%) and Two or More Races (6.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Locke described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Locke at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.9% · 679
- Hispanic or Latino7.0% · 59
- Two or more races6.6% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.2% · 27
- Black or African American1.7% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 5
Popularity
Locke: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Locke from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 500 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Locke remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Locke by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Locke during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lockes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Texas, Utah recorded the most babies named Locke, while Washington, Missouri, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Locke
The name Locke has its origins in the Old English word "loc," which means "lock" or "enclosed place." It was initially a surname derived from someone who lived near a lock or enclosed area. The earliest recorded use of the name Locke as a given name dates back to the 12th century.
In medieval England, the name Locke was particularly popular among the lower classes, as it signified a connection to a specific location or dwelling. This name was often given to children born in humble surroundings, such as a locked or enclosed area on a manor or estate.
One of the earliest notable figures to bear the name Locke was John Locke (1632-1704), the renowned English philosopher and political theorist. His influential work, "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding," laid the foundation for empiricism and had a significant impact on the Enlightenment era.
Another famous bearer of the name was Matthew Locke (1621-1677), an English composer and musician who contributed significantly to the development of English opera and instrumental music during the Baroque period.
In the literary realm, the name Locke is associated with John Locke (1805-1880), an American writer and philosopher who authored several influential works, including "The Locke Amsden; or, The Schoolmaster," which was one of the first novels to depict life in the American West.
Additionally, Alain LeRoy Locke (1885-1954), an American writer, philosopher, and leader of the Harlem Renaissance, was a prominent figure who championed the advancement of African American culture and art. His anthology, "The New Negro," published in 1925, is considered a seminal work of the Harlem Renaissance movement.
In the world of sports, the name Locke is associated with several notable athletes, including Bobby Locke (1917-1987), a South African professional golfer who won four Open Championships and was regarded as one of the greatest putters in the history of the game.
While the name Locke has its roots in Old English and was initially a surname, it has evolved into a given name with a rich history and diverse cultural associations, spanning various fields such as philosophy, music, literature, and sports.
People
Locke + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Locke as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Locke: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Locke?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 957 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Locke going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 358,155 US residents.
Is Locke a common name?
We classify Locke as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 998 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Locke most popular?
The single biggest year for Locke was 2016, when 74 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Locke is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Locke in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 839 people with the name Locke, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,135 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Locke in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Locke?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Locke leans strongly male. 778 people counted with this name were male (93.7%), compared with 52 female bearers (6.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Locke?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Locke is White at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.0%) and Two or More Races (6.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Locke most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Locke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.9% (679 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Locke in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Locke a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Locke in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Locke still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Locke in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Locke can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Locke?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.