2000
#6,278
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,999
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.85
Rare Last name
Luckey
An English surname derived from the Middle English word "lucki," meaning fortunate or favored by luck.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,923 Americans carry the last name Luckey. That puts it at #6,331 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 57,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Luckey surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Luckey with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.9K
1 in 57,868
Census rank
#6,331
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,165 bearers of the surname Luckey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6331st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Luckey, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.8%. The next largest groups are Black (35.9%) and Two or More Races (5.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Luckey
The surname Luckey is of English origin, derived from the Old English words 'luc' meaning 'luck' and 'ieg' meaning 'island'. It likely originated as a topographic name for someone who lived on a fortunate or lucky island.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to the 13th century in the Huntingdonshire Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it appeared as 'Lukky'. Over time, the spelling evolved to its current form of Luckey.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of land ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror, there is a mention of a place called 'Luckynge' in Kent, which may have been named after an early bearer of the Luckey surname.
During the 16th century, the name was found in various records including the Parish Registers of Bottesford, Leicestershire, where a Richard Luckey was recorded in 1577. Another early bearer was John Luckey, born in 1602 in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire.
Notable individuals with the Luckey surname include Sir John Luckey (1625-1692), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Middlesex. Another prominent figure was William Luckey (1782-1864), a British naval officer who rose to the rank of Admiral and was knighted for his services.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded bearers of the Luckey surname was John Luckey, who arrived in Virginia from England in 1635. Another early American with this name was Samuel Luckey, born in 1692 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Other notable individuals with the Luckey surname include Samuel Luckey (1854-1927), an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Representative from Pennsylvania, and Charles Luckey (1870-1939), an American artist known for his landscape paintings.
Throughout history, the Luckey surname has had various spellings such as Luckye, Lucki, and Luckie, reflecting its evolution over time and across different regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Luckey
Among Census respondents with the surname Luckey, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.8%. The next largest groups are Black (35.9%) and Two or More Races (5.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Luckey bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Luckey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.8% · 2,781
- Black or African American35.9% · 1,854
- Two or more races5.5% · 284
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 191
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Luckey
Luckey appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,288
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,434
+435 bearers (+8.7%)
Per 100,000 1.84
Rank movement Down 10 places
2020
#6,331
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,165
-269 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 1.73
Rank movement Down 43 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,278 | 4,999 | 1.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,288 | 5,434 | 1.84 | +435 bearers (+8.7%) | Down 10 places |
| 2020 | #6,331 | 5,165 | 1.73 | -269 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 43 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Luckey surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,288 | #6,331 | -0.7% |
| Count | 5,434 | 5,165 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.84 | 1.73 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Luckey bearers went from 5,434 to 5,165 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 43 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,288 to #6,331.
FAQ
Luckey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Luckey?
Name Census estimates that about 5,923 living Americans carry the surname Luckey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 57,868 residents.
How common is Luckey?
Luckey ranks #6,331 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,165 people with the surname Luckey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,923), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Luckey.
Has Luckey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Luckey went from 5,434 recorded bearers to 5,165. That is a decrease of 269 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,288 to #6,331.
What does the Census say about the background of Luckey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Luckey, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.8%. The next largest groups are Black (35.9%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Luckey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.8% (2,781 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Luckey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (53.8%), Black (35.9%), Two or More Races (5.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Luckey (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Luckey mean?
An English surname derived from the Middle English word "lucki," meaning fortunate or favored by luck. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Luckey (1.73 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Luckey?
If you just want to know how common the surname Luckey is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.