Lua

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 8 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Lua is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name29K records spelled Lua29 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, United States, Malaysia, Australia

  Languages: English, German, Western Frisian

  Also written Luea, Lúa, Lụa, Luã, Lứa

• a separate given name3.1K records spelled Lua28 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Spain, Malaysia, China

  Also written Lúa, Luá, Luâ, Lửa, L̶u̶ã̶

• Catalan given name3.0K records spelled Lua6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Spain, France, United States, United Kingdom

  Languages: Catalan, French

  Also written Lue, Lué, Lúe, Lûé

• Malay given name2.6K records spelled Lua4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, United States

  Languages: Malay, Indonesian

  Also written Lúa, Luã

• a separate given name1.3K records spelled Lua9 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Ecuador, United Kingdom, Spain

  Also written Lúa, Luá, Luà, Lựa, Lửa

61 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Lua is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• habitational name from a place called Lira in Lugo province (Galicia). This name is common in Mexico.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In Portuguese, moon (any substantially sized natural satellite of a planet)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, A lightweight programming language with dynamic typing.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, Roman goddess of plague or

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In English, defilement

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 29 years between 1910–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Mary Treatb. 1830USnot in their usual nameAmerican biologist, botanist and entomologist (1830-1923)
• Lua Ribeirab. 1986ESUK-based Spanish photographer
• Lua Vizcaino i Medinab. 1996ESSpanish sport cyclist
• sonhos tomam contab. 2000BRnot in their usual nameBrazilian shoegaze musician

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 505 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Lua?

We estimate roughly 9.2 thousand people bear Lua (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Lua have the most bearers?

Lua is most frequently recorded in Argentina, where it is most often spelled lua.

Where is Lua most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Lua is densest in Spain — about 1 in 17 thousand people — even though Argentina holds more of our records for it.

How common is Lua compared with other names?

In Uruguay, Lua is the 853rd most common given name of 13,897 given names recorded there.

Is Lua a male or female name?

Lua is recorded for both men and women. We don't publish a percentage split: a record's gender belongs to the person and is attached to every given name on that record, so names in cultures where a name string also carries a parent's or spouse's given name pick up large cross-gender counts.

What does the name Lua mean?

Recorded meaning: moon