Recorded in over one hundred spelling forms ranging from Lucas, Luke, Luck and Luckett (English and Scottish), Lucas and Lucaud (France), Luca (Italy), Luk, Lucker and Lauks (Germany), Luasek and Kasek (Czech), Lukasik (Poland), Lukashevich (Ukraine), Lukovic (Croatia), and many more, this is a 12th century surname of several possible origins.
For most name holders it probably derives from the ancient Greek given name "Loucas", meaning the man from Lucania, formerly a region of Italy. As such it was probably a Crusader name. This was a name associated with the various Christian Crusades in the 12th centuries with knights from all countries in Europe, who attempted to wrest control of the Holy Land, and specifically Jerusalem, from the Muslim grip. All failed, but returning warriors often gave their children names associated with the biblical region, and this was one of them.
The surname can also be of French locational origins, from the town of Luick in Flanders. An example in this respect being that of Lucas de Luke, who is recorded in the Pipe Rolls of the city of London on 1274.
Amongst the early colonists in the island of Barbados was Richard Lucas, whose son Theophilus was christened at George rigs parish church on November 26th 1679.
The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Euerard Lucas. This was dated 1153, in the register of the Knight Templars of England during the reign of King Stephen, 1135 - 1154.
Luca (pronounced "LOO-kah" also spelt Louca, Luka, Louka, Lucca) is a given name used predominantly for males, mainly in Italy, Germany and Romania. It is derived from the Latin name Lucas, which itself is possibly a translation of Ancient Greek Loukas meaning "(one) from Lucania" (an ancient region of southern Italy), or the name is derived from the Latin word "lux" (light). It may also come from the Latin word "lucus" meaning "sacred wood" (a cognate of lucere), or from another Greek word lykos meaning "wolf". The name is common among Christians as a result of Luke the Evangelist. Similarly, the name Luka is also commonly found as a male given name in Eastern Europe and particularly the Balkans with the name sharing the same origin. Luca is also a Hungarian and Croatian female given name, but pronounced differently as "LOO-tsah" the equivalent of the English name Lucy.
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