Luke

/lyk/

//lyk// name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"luke" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Luke” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,312 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.

#3,312
frequency rank, English
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A male given name.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Luke vs lux
25% similar
Luke vs luv
25% similar
Luke vs luz
25% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Luke
PropertyValue
HeadwordLuke
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/lyk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#3,312
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Luke” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Luke lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for Luke is 4 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /lyk/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,312 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for Luke, with forms such as "lkue", "lluke", and "luek". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "lux", "luv", "luz", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin Lūcās, from Koine Greek Λουκᾶς (Loukâs). See the Greek entry for more. The correct English form is Luke, spelled L-U-K-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A male given name.
  2. 2
    Luke the Evangelist, an early Christian credited with the authorship of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.
  3. 3
    The Gospel of St. Luke, a book of the New Testament of the Bible. Traditionally the third of the four gospels.
  4. 4
    An English surname originating as a patronymic, a variant of Luck.
  5. 5
    An Irish surname originating as a patronymic, a later anglicization of Lúcás (Lucas).
  6. 6
    A village in Čajniče, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
  7. 7
    A village in Hadžići, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
  8. 8
    A village in Pale, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
  9. 9
    A village in Tartu, Estonia.
  10. 10
    A village in Kriva Palanka, North Macedonia.
  11. 11
    A village in Moravica district, Serbia.
  12. 12
    A town in Maryland, United States; named for papermaker William Luke.

Etymology

From Latin Lūcās, from Koine Greek Λουκᾶς (Loukâs). See the Greek entry for more.

This word in other languages

Lucas(Español)Luc(Français)Lukas(Deutsch)Lucas(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: lkue,lluke,luek,lukke,ulke

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Luke - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

lkue2lluke1luek2lukke1ulke2
Edit distance from "Luke"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Luke"?
"Luke" is spelled L-U-K-E. The IPA pronunciation is /lyk/.
What does "Luke" mean?
As a proper noun, "Luke" means: A male given name.
What words are commonly confused with "Luke"?
"Luke" is commonly confused with "lux", "luv", "luz". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Luke"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Luke" is /lyk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Luke"?
From Latin Lūcās, from Koine Greek Λουκᾶς (Loukâs). See the Greek entry for more. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “Luke”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is L-U-K-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /lyk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “lux” - see the side-by-side comparison. Luke vs lux
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list