Lucanus
A masculine name of Latin origin referring to someone from Lucania, an ancient region in southern Italy.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Lucanus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lucanus today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lucanus births was 1977 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lucanus. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lucanus. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1977
5 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
1977 SSA rank
#6,450
Tracked since 1977
Popularity
Lucanus: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Lucanus 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 Lucanus during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Lucanus
Lucanus is a masculine given name with its origins tracing back to ancient Roman culture. It is derived from the Latin word "lucus," meaning a sacred grove or woodland. The name was likely given to individuals born or residing near sacred groves or forests, which held significant religious and cultural importance in ancient Roman society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lucanus can be found in the works of the Roman poet and philosopher, Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, better known as Lucan. Born in 39 AD in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba, Spain), Lucan was a renowned epic poet whose primary work, "Pharsalia," recounted the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great.
In the realm of ancient Roman history, another notable figure bearing the name Lucanus was Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, a Roman senator and orator who lived during the 1st century AD. He was the grandfather of the poet Lucan and played a significant role in the political and cultural life of his time.
During the medieval period, the name Lucanus gained popularity among Christian communities, particularly in regions influenced by Latin culture. Saint Lucanus, a 4th-century martyr and bishop of Beauvais, France, was a revered figure whose name contributed to the widespread use of Lucanus as a given name.
In the Renaissance era, the Italian humanist and philosopher Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, also known as Picus Mirandolanus or Pico Lucanus (1463-1494), was a prominent figure who bore the name Lucanus. He was renowned for his exceptional intellect and his efforts to reconcile various philosophical and religious traditions.
Another notable individual with the name Lucanus was the Dutch physician and botanist Willem van der Meer, better known as Guilielmus Lucanus (1591-1642). He made significant contributions to the study of plants and was recognized for his work in cataloging and describing the flora of the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia).
While the name Lucanus has its roots in ancient Roman culture, it has been adopted and adapted across various regions and linguistic traditions throughout history. Its association with sacred groves, poetry, and religious figures has contributed to its enduring legacy as a given name with deep cultural and historical significance.
People
Lucanus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lucanus 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
Lucanus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lucanus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lucanus 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Lucanus a common name?
We classify Lucanus as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lucanus most popular?
The single biggest year for Lucanus was 1977, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lucanus is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Lucanus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lucanus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lucanus 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 Lucanus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lucanus 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 Lucanus 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Lucanus?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Lucanus on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.