Luca

Luca is what Italian mothers have been calling their sons for centuries — the Italian form of Luke, rooted in the ancient region of Lucania on the arch of the boot, though folk etymology happily ties it to lux, light. The name has a Vespa-and-espresso ease to it, carried into American life by parents who wanted Luke with an extra vowel of warmth. Pixar's 2021 film Luca, set on the Ligurian coast, helped send it climbing into the top twenty-five. Two open syllables that end the way Italian words like to end — on a vowel, a small invitation. Sunny, Continental, unfussy. A name that travels light.