Find out how popular the last name Lucas is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Lucas.

Lucas, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Lucas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lucas in America

Lucas is the 286th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lucas surname appeared 107,690 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 37 people would have the surname Lucas.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lucas to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Lucas

The surname LUCAS is of Spanish and Italian origin, derived from the Latin personal name Lucas, which itself is derived from the Greek name Loukas, meaning "from Lucania" - an ancient region in southern Italy. The name LUCAS first emerged in the 9th century and was initially concentrated in Spain and Italy.

During the Middle Ages, the name LUCAS appeared in various records across Europe, such as the Domesday Book of 1086, which listed several individuals with the surname in England. One notable early bearer was Lucas de Penne, a Norman nobleman who fought alongside William the Conqueror in the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

In the 13th century, the surname LUCAS was found in various forms, including Luca, Lucca, and Lucaz, reflecting regional spelling variations. One of the earliest recorded individuals was Giovanni di Luca, an Italian painter and architect from Siena, who lived from around 1238 to 1348.

Over the centuries, the name LUCAS has been associated with several notable figures. In the 16th century, there was Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553), a German Renaissance painter known for his portraits of Martin Luther and other Reformation leaders. Another prominent bearer was Sir Samuel Lucas (1585-1670), an English military officer and politician who fought in the English Civil War.

In the 18th century, Robert Lucas (1781-1853) was a prominent American politician and territorial governor of Ohio and Iowa. In the 19th century, George Lucas (1824-1909) was an English novelist and playwright, best known for his novel "The Flitters, Tatters, and the Counsellor."

One of the most famous bearers of the name LUCAS in modern times is George Lucas (born 1944), the American filmmaker and creator of the Star Wars franchise. Other notable individuals include Elijah Lucas (1590-1675), a British colonist and governor of the British West Indies, and Juan Lucas (1888-1953), a Spanish painter known for his landscapes and portraits.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lucas

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Lucas.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Lucas was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Lucas has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Lucas was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Lucas, please contact us.

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