Lucas Family Crest, Coat of Arms and Name History

Lucas Surname Name Meaning, Origin, History, & Etymology
This is a baptismal or patronymic last name meaning “the son of Luke”, deriving from the ancient personal (first) name Luke, a biblical name meaning light, white, or luminous, from Lucania, an ancient district in Italy, a name borne by Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles and the Third Gospel of the New Testament portion of the Christian Bible. He was the patron saint of artists and doctors. Known as Luke the Evangelist, he was born around 84 AD near Boeotia, Greece. The name became popular throughout Europe, Christendom, and the Holy Roman Empire during medieval times and the Middle Ages. The Latin spelling was Lucius. The name may have been a Crusader name brought back to Europe beginning in the eleventh century AD from the Holy Land or Near East. It is interesting to note that during the Middle Ages in Europe, many people believed their children would be protected or blessed by the saints they were named after. One source asserts that the family first held land and titles in Herfordshire, England, a county in the southeastern part of the country.

Spelling Variations
Some spelling variants or names with similar etymologies include Luckas, Loucas, Lucass, Luc, Luke, Luches, Leuches, Lukas, Luckett, Luk, Lucker, Lucio, Lauks (German), Lukovic (Croatia), Lukasik (Polish), Luasek (Czech), Luca (Italian), and Lucaud (French). It is also sometimes an Americanized spelling of the Greek last name Loukas (changed at Ellis Island perhaps?). In Scotland, it can be a reduced form of the Gaelic last name MacLucais or McLucas.

Popularity & Geographic Distribution
The last name Lucas ranks 275^th in popularity in the United Status as of the 2000 Census. The name ranks particularly high in the following five states: West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Maryland.

The surname Lucas frequency/commonness ranks as follows in the British Isles: England (283^rd), Scotland (774^th), Wales (328^th), Ireland (1,202^nd) and Northern Ireland (713^rd). In England, it ranks highest in counties Dorset, Wiltshire, Surrey, Warwickshire, and Sussex. In Scotland, the surname ranks highest in Ayrshire and Argyll. In Wales, it ranks highest in county Radnorshire. In Ireland, it ranks highest in Carlow. In Northern Ireland, it ranks highest in Tyrone.

The name is also present throughout the remainder English speaking world:  Canada (601^st), New Zealand (339^th), Australia (218^th), and South Africa (647^th).

The 1890 book Homes of Family Names by H.B. Guppy, states the following in regard to this surname: “Lucas is a name established in various parts of England. It was represented in this county as well as in Norfolk in the reign of Edward I. (H. R.) The name of Mustill has its present home in the St. Ives district on the borders of Cambridgeshire. The name of Mustel occurred in the hundred of Stowe in this county in the 13th century”.

Early Bearers of the Surname
The earliest known bearer of this surname was Edward Lucas who was documented in the Register of the Knight Templars of England in 1153 AD. Lucas de Luke was listed in the Pipe Rolls of London in 1274 AD. Ulrich der Luk was documented in Dorfzaum, Germany in 1310 AD. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 AD, a census of Wales and England, known in Latin as Rotuli Hundredorum lists two bearers of this name: Lucas Cacherellus (Norfolk) and Lucas Bercator (Cambridge). John Lucas was documented in county Somerset in 1327 AD according to Kirby’s Quest. The Poll Tax of Howdenshire lists one Willelmus Lucas in 1379 AD. Thomas filius (son of) Lucas was documented as living in York, England in the Surtees Society Publications. An early marriage involving this surname was Richard Lucas to Alice Pumfrett in London in 1561 AD. In Scotland, James Leuches was recorded in Torieleithe in 1608 AD, and three years later in 1611 AD, a one William Luches was documented.

Lucas Family Tree & Lucas Genealogy
The following is a discussion of seven different noble, royal, landed, or aristocratic families bearing this last name.

Lucas of Castle Shane
In the early 1600s, several members of this family came to England to Ireland where their descendants became established in counties Clare, Cork, Monaghan, and King. In King’s County, they acquired land by purchase and royal grant by King Charles II. Francis Lucas, Esq., was the first of Castle Shane, and he married Mary Poyntz, and by her, had a daughter named Lucy (married Charles Poyntz) and five sons: Francis, Robert, William, Richard, and Charles. His eldest son Francis, Esquire of Castle Shane, was born in 1646. He was succeeded by his eldest son Francis, also an Esquire of Castle Shane, who was a Member of Parliament for Monghan from 1713-1747. He was succeeded by his brother, Edward Lucas. This Edward married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Smyth of Drumcree and secondly Abigail, widow of Hancock. He had three daughters and one son. His son, Thomas, married Alice, daughter of William the 6^th Lord Blayney, and had issue with her including Edward and Francis (of Grenan, married Mary Savage of Ardkeen). He died in 1756 and was succeeded by his son Edward. This Edward, Esq. of Castle Shane, was a Member of Parliament for Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Savage of Arkdeen, and had several children with her including: Francis (Castle Shane), Charles, and Reverend Edward (married Elizabeth Ann, daughter of Theophilus Clements of Rathkenny). His son Charles Lucas, Esquire of Castle Shane, was a Barrister-at-Law, who married, in 1786, Sarah, daughter of Sir James Hamilton, Knight of Monaghan, and later Louisa, daughter of Evatt of Mount Louise.  His son and successor was Right Honorable Edward Lucas of Castle Shane, who was a High Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, Member of Parliament, Under Secretary of State for Ireland, and member of the Privy Council who was born in 1787. In 1812, he married Anne, daughter of William Ruxton of Ardee House, and had eight children with her as follows: Francis (Lieutenant of the 46^th Regiment), Edward William (of Castle Shane), Fitz-Herbert Dacre (married Laura Adelaide Scudamore), Charles Pierrepont (Captain Bengal N.I), Gould Arthur (of Lower Ucomanzi, Natal, Captain of 73^rd Regiement, married Christabella Allen), Catherine Anne (married Samuel Fitzherbert Filgate of Hillsborough), Anna Isabella, and Isabella Florinda. He died in 1871 and was succeeded by his son Edward. This Edward William Lucas was a Justice of the Peace, Deputy Lieutenant, and Lieutenant of the 88^th Regiment, was born in 1819. He died in 1874 and was succeeded by his nephew, Edward. This Edward Scudamore Lucas was an Esquire of Castle Shane, county Monaghan, Ireland, as well as a Justice of the Peace, Deputy Lieutenant, and Lieutenant of the Hereford Militia born in 1853. The Lucas Coat of Arms (erroneously called the Lucas Family Crest) by some is blazoned in heraldry as follows: Argent, a fess between six annulets gules. Crest: Out of a ducal

Lucas of Rathealy
The Rathealy branch of the Lucas family tree settled at Youghal around the year 1640.  Jasper Lucas, a Merchant of Youghal, died around 1630, having married Jane, daughter of John Atkin of Minehead, leaving a son with her, also named Jasper. The son Jasper, in 1685, married Jane, daughter of Samuel Hayman and widow of John Vaughan, and had issue with her as follows: John (his heir), Jasper (progenitor of the Richfordstown), Samuel, Atkin, and Elizabeth (married Henry Rugge of Ballydaniel). He died in September of 1710 and was succeeded by his eldest son John. This John Lucas, an Alderman of Youghal, in 1714, married Elizabeth, daughter of Arthur Hyde of Castle Huge, had the following children: Arthur Hyde (his heir), three other sons, Jane (married James Uniacke) and Elizabeth (married Hull Attfield). He died in 1732 and was succeeded by his son Arthur. This Arthur Hyde Lucas of Grange, close to Fermoy, Ireland, was born around 1715. In 1750, he married Jane, daughter of James Smith of Rathcoursey, and had issue with her as follows: Arthur, Henrietta (married Thomas Bernard of Palace Anne and later Richard Perry of Cork), and Elizabeth. He died in 1788 was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Arthur. This Arthur, of Rathealy, was born in 1757. In 1806, he married Frances, daughter of Henry Adams of Cregg, and had the following issue with her: Arthur Hyde, John (married Mary Corhan of Kilworth, had son named Arthur John and daughter named Mary Corban), Henry (Captain of the South Cork Militia, married Emma Whitla, had children named Arthur Hyde, Henry John, William, and Ada), Anne, Harriet, Frances, Emma Jane (married Samuel Smith), Sarah Maria, and Catherine. His son Arthur Hyde Lucas was an Esquire of Rathealy, county Cork, Ireland who was a Justice of the Peace, Captain of the 45^th Regiment, and Major of the South Cork Light Infantry Militia who was born in 1812. In 1864, he married Elizabeth Frances, daughter of Reverend Samuel Adams of Cregg. The Lucas Coat of Arms (mistakenly called the Lucas Family Crest or Lucas Family Shield) has the following heraldic blazon or armorial: Or, a fess between six annulets gules. Crest: Out of a ducal coronet or, a wyvern’s head gules.

Lucas of Richfordstown
This is a younger branch of the Rathealy branch. The Lucas genealogy of this line begins with Jasper Lucas, who had a son named Thomas. This Thomas was an Esquire of Richfordstown, county Cork, Ireland, who married Dorothy, daughter of Thomas Evans of Miltown Castle, with whom he had three daughters and one son. His son was Jasper Evans Lucas, Esq. of Richfordstown, who in 1787, married Hester Rashleigh of Cloncoose, and had the following issue with her: Thomas (his heir), John Evans (married Elizabeth Evans of Knockaderry, had daughter named Arabella), Jasper Evans (married Arabella Cox of the Manor House), Dora (married Patrick Brown and later James Nelson Crofts), Hester (married Edward Henry Herrick), and Catherine (married James Boyle). His eldest son, Thomas Lucas, Esquire of Richfordstown, who was a Justice of the Peace born in 1788. In 1814, he married his cousin, Dora, daughter and co-heir of John Rashleigh, and fathered the following children with her: John Rashleigh, George (married Mary Longfield of Waterloo, had issue named George, Thomas, and Dora), Patrick Browne (Major of the 10^th Regiment, married Miss Gumbleton), Jasper (Captain of the 47^th Regiment, married Anne Ronayne, had children named John and Dora), and Robert. He died in 1864. They bore the same arms as Lucas of Rathealy. This family was seated at Richardstown, Clonakilty, county Cork.

Baroness Lucas
The Baroness Lucas, Nan Ino Cooper, of Crudwell, Wiltshire, in the Peerage of England, and Baroness of Dingwall, county Ross, in the Peerage of Scotland, and co-heir of the Barony of Butler, was born in 1880 and granted the title and rank in 1907 when she succeeded her brother. In 1917, she married Lieutenant Colonel Howard Lister Cooper and had issue with him: Anne Rosemary (1919) and Rachel (born 1921, married Spencer Douglas Loch). The Lucas genealogy traces back to the creation of the Barony of Lucas of Crudwell, Wiltshire, England in 1663. John Lucas, 1^st Baron Lucas, of Shenfield, Essex, son of Sir Thomas Lucas of Colchester, was raised to the Peerage in 1644. He was born in 1606, and in 1628, married Anne, daughter of Sir Christopher Nevill, and had issue with her. His daughter was Mary, Baroness of Lucas, who in 1662, married the 11^th Earl of Kent.  The Scottish Barony of Dingwall was created in 1609, and the 1^st Earl of Desmond and 1^st Lord Dingwall was Sir Richard Preston of Halltree, Edinburgh. The coat of arms is blazoned in the European art of heraldry as follows: Per pale azure and gules three lions rampant argent. Supporters: On either side a wyvern with wings erect or. Motto: Unge je serviray.

Lucas of Chilworth
The Baron Lucas of Chilworth, George William Lucas, of Chilworth, county Southampton, appointed Lord in Waiting to His Majesties the King in July 1948: served in World War I 1914-19 worth R.N.A.S who was born in 1896. He held numerous positions including President of the Motor Agents Associations. In 1917, he married Sonia, daughter of Marcus Finkelstein of Libau, Latvia, and had two sons and two daughters with him: Michael William George (served with R.A.C.), Ivor Thomas Mark (served in R.A.), Ndia (married Lieutenant Hamish Rattray Selkirk of Moffat), and Tania (born 1933). He was the son of Percy William Lucas. He was created a Baron in 1946. The Lucas Coat of Arms is blazoned as follows: Per fesse wavy or and azure in chief between two annulets a rose gules barbed and seeded proper and in base two bars wavy argent surmounted by a bull’s head cabossed sable. Crest: A representation of Apollo affronte or. Supporters: On the dexter side a lion or, and on the sinister side a Russian bear sable, each resting the interior paw upon an annulet therein a rose gules barbed and seeded proper. Motto: Labor Omnia vincit. They resided at Nashdown, Chilworth Road, Bassett, Southampton and Whitehall Court.

Baronet Lucas
Sir Jocelyn Morton Lucas, 4^th Baronet, of Ashtead Park, Surrey, educated at Eton, was born in 1889.  He succeeded his father in 1936. He was a Major in the 4^th Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment, who served in World War I and was wounded and taken prisoner.  He was also a Member of Parliament for South Portsmouth. He held numerous other positions and was part of the Order of Orange Nassau of the Netherlands, and received the Czechoslovak Military Medal of Merit. In 1933, he married Edith, daughter of Reverend David Barrie Cameron. The Lucas genealogy of this line begins with James Jonathan Hughes Delight Lucas, of Lowestoft, Suffolk, England, who was born in March of 1792. In 1812, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Pearman of Chipping Norton, and he had numerous issue, including Charles Thomas (of Warnham Court, Justice of the Peace, Deputy Lieutenant, and High Sheriff, married Charlotte Emma Tiffin, had children with her), Sir Thomas (1^st Baronet). His third son, Sir Thomas Lucas, 1^st Baronet, of Ashstead Park, Surrey, Deputy Lieutenant and Justice Peace, was born in 1822. He was a Colonel of the Eng. and Rly. Voluneer Staff Corps. He was created a Baronet in 1887. In 1845, he married Jane Rolfe, daughter of Charles Golder of Folkestown, and had a daughter with her named Kate Golder (married Athol Maudslay, had issue). He secondly married Mary Amelia, daughter of Robert Chamberlain of Catton House, and had issue with her: Sir Arthur Charles (2^nd Baronet), Edward Lingard (3^rd Baronet), Ernest Murray (Major in the Army Remount Service, Duke of York’s Own Loyal Suffolk Hussars, served in World War I, married Ada Catherine Moore, had issue named Geoffrey Arthur, Lieutenant Ralph John Scott, Carlton George, Mary Gladys, and Marjorie Dorothy Bertha), Francis Granville Lewis (Rector of Campsea Ashe, married Mary Frances Bovill, had children named Alan Reginald Farrar, Hubert Francis, and Arthur John), Reginald Jaffray (Member of Parliament for Portsmouth, Captain of the 3^rd Bn. Hampshire Regiment), Evelyn Penn (educated at Eton, Major of the 4^th Royal Berks Regiment, served in World War I, married Mary Georgetta Michinson, had issue named Timothy Stovin and Mary Evelyn), Constance Mary (married William Penn), Amy Florence (married Lieutenant-Colonel Aubrey Maude), Evelyn Emma, and Mary Alice (married Frederick Eustace Reader Fryer of Bury Will). He died in 1902 and was succeeded by his eldest son Arthur. This Sir Arthur Charles Lucas, 2^nd Baronet, of Ashtead Park, Surrey, was a Justice of the Peace and Major Eng. and Rly. Staff Corps who was born in 1853. In 1876, he married Agnes, daughter of George Jamieson of Prince’s Gardens. He died without issue in 1915 and was succeeded by his brother Edward. Sir Edward Lingard Lucas, 3^rd Baronet, was born in 1860, and in 1886, he married Mary Helen, daughter of Henry Chance of Thornbridge, and had two issue with her: Thomas Farquhar (Lieutenant of the 10^th Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment), and Sir Jocelyn Morton, 4^th Baronet (discussed at the beginning of this paragraph). He secondly married Anna Maria del Carmen, daughter of Captain William Henry O’Shea of the 18^th Hussars. He third married Delia Dorothy, daughter of Daniel John O’Sullivan of The Green. He died in 1936 and was succeeded by his son. The Lucas Coat of Arms (erroneously called the Lucas Family Crest) is blazoned in heraldry as follows: Per bend argent and gules, a bend dovetailed between six annulets counterchanged. Crest: Issuing from a wreath of oak or, a dragon’s head with wings endorsed gules, semee of annulets argent. Motto: Spes et fides. They resided at Wellington Court, Knightsbridge.

Other Lucas Pedigree & Family Trees
Lucas I (born before 1407 AD in England)
John II (born before 1407 AD in England)
Lucas III (born before 1407 AD in England)
Edmund IV (born before 1407 AD in England)
Lucas V (born before 1407 AD in England)
Edmund Lucas (born between 1347 and 1407 AD in England. He was the first person to bear this as a surname. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thomas Morieux, in 1360 AD)
John Fitz-Lucas (born 1412)
Edmund Fitz-Lucas (born around 1418)
John Fitz-Lucas (born in West Stow, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom in 1420 AD. Had sons named Thomas and Sir Walter Luke)
General Thomas Houchon Lucas (born in Little Saxham, Suffolk, around 1460)
John Twin Lucas (born in Little Saxham, Suffolk around 1510)
Sir Thomas Lucas Sr. (born in St. James, Colchester, Essex in 1531, Member of Parliament)
Sir Thomas Lucas Jr. (born in Colchester, Essex, England in 1559)
Sir Thomas (born in Colchester around 1579)
Thomas (born in Plymouth, MA around 1634)
Samuel (born in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1661)
Joseph (born in Plymouth, MA in 1689)
Samuel (born in Massachusetts in 1719). Samuel married Abigail Shaw and had numerous issue with her as follows: Isaac Shaw, Abigail Barrows, Isaac, Samuel, Abigail, Abijah, Josiah, Solomon, Patience, Elizabeth, Bezaleel, and Zilpha.
Captain Thomas Lucas I was born in England around 1610. He went to colonial American. Prior to his death in Old Rappahannock, Virginia, he had issue, including Thomas Jr. and Mary Hawkins. His son Thomas Lucas Jr. was born in Sittebourne Parish, Virginia around 1636.

Early American and New World Settlers
Richard Lucas, age 16, came to Virginia aboard the Assurance in July 1635.
Charles Lucas was a prisoner sent to the New World around 1685 “Att the Bridewell Taunton”.
Theophilus, son of Richard and Elizabeth Lucas, was born in November 1678 in Christ Church, Barbados.

The book Genealogical Guide to the Early Settlers, mentions three bearers of this last name:
1) Thomas Lucas of Plymouth, had children named John (1656), Mary (1658), Benoi (1659), Samuel (1661), and William (1663). He was killed by Indians during King Philp’s War.
2) William Lucas of Middletown, in 1666, married Esther, daughter of John Clark, of New Haven, and had issue with her named William (1667), John (1669), Mary (1672), Thomas (1676), and Samuel (1682). He died in 1690.
3) There was a Mr. Lucas of New Haven, Connecticut, in 1643, had a family of six, and whom little else is written. He may have been one of the London associates who went home. The family owned an estate in New England and is of French descent. The first immigrant of this family was Augustus.

Other settlers in colonial America bearing this surname include Lucas Lucas (Philadelphia 1627), Samuel Lucas (Virginia 1635), Roger Lucas (Virginia 1636), Richard Lucas (Virginia 1637), Jone Lucas (Virginia 1637), Edmund Lucas (Virginia 1701), Isaac Lucas (Virginia 1704),  Frantz Lucas (New Jersey 1709), Anna Catharina Lucas (age 4, New York 1710), and Francis Lucas (New England 1709, with wife and eight children).

In Canada, one of the first settlers bearing this last name was Thomas Lucas, who came to the province of Nova Scotia in 1823. In Australia, one of the earliest bearers was George Lucas, a convict from Glamorgan, Wales who came aboard the Andromeda in 1826, living in Van Diemen’s Land (modern day Tasmania). In New Zealand, one Robert Lucas came to the city of Wellington in 1840.

Early Americans Bearing the Lucas Family Crest
Charles Bolton’s American Armory (1927), Crozier’s General Armory (1904), and Matthew’s American Armoury and Bluebook (1907) do not contain any entries for this last name. This is fairly odd for a name like Lucas that ranks in the top 250 most popular surnamed in the United States. It may suggest that more Lucases came in the nineteenth century, when heraldry was less popular, as opposed to the eighteenth century, but this is conjecture on my part.

Mottoes
I have identified five Lucas family mottoes:
1) Respice finem (Regard the end)
2) Stat religion parentum (He continues in the religion of his forefathers) (of Castle Thane)
3) Unge je serviray (One will I serve)
4) Labor Omnia vincit (Work conquers all)
5) Spes et fides (Hope and faith)

Grantees
We have 21 coats of arms for the Lucas surname depicted here. These 21 blazons are from Bernard Burke’s book The General Armory of England, Ireland, and Scotland, which was published in 1848. The bottom of this page contains the blazons, and in many instances contains some historical, geographical, and genealogical about where coat of arms was found and who bore it. People with this last name that bore an Lucas Coat of Arms (or mistakenly called the Family Crest)
1) Joseph Lucas of Foxhunt Manor, Waldron, county Sussex, England, 1898
2) John Seymour Lucas, R.A., of Woodchurch Road, Hampstead, London
3) Richard Lucas of Oaklands House, West Lavington, county Sussex, son of William, 1898
4) Lucas to Calcraft of Ancaster, county Lincolnshire, and Ingress, county Kent, 1786
5) Lucas, late Naylor, of London, and Twickenham, county Middlesex, 1829
6) Matthias Prime Lucas, Alderman and Lord Mayor of London, of Wateringbury, county Kent, 1833
7) Lucas before Rennie, of Wateringbury, county Kent, 1833
8) Lucas after Lancaster, of Wateringbury, county Kent, England, 1849
9) Lucas of Hasland and Chesterfield, county Derby, 1838
10) Lucas-Shadwell, late Stent, William Drew, of Fittleworth and Hastings, county Sussex, 1844
11) Lucas of Hitchin, county Hertfordshire and Llangattock House, county Monmouth, 1847
12) Lucas-Lane, of Brighton, county Sussex, 1856
13) Lucas, of Lower Grove House, Roehampton, and Clapham Common, county Surrey, Lowestoft, county Suffolk, and Folkestone, county Kent, 1861

Notables
There are hundreds of notable people with the Lucas surname. This page will mention a handful. Famous people with this last name include: 1) Charles Lucas (1713-1771) was an Irish physician and politican who was a Member of Parliament for Dublin, called the “Irish Wilkes” due to his radical views, 2) Charles Lucas (1808-1869) who was an English composer, conductor, and cellist who was born in Salisbury and became the third Principal of the Royal Academy of Music, 3) Francis Edouard Anatole Lucas (1842-1891) who was a French mathematician known for Lucas numbers and sequences, which are closely related to the Fibonacci sequence, 4) George Walton Lucas Jr. (1944) who is an American filmmaker known for creating Star Wars and Indiana Jones, born in Modesto, California, 5) Jean Jacques Etienne Lucas (1764-1819) who was a French Navy officer born in Marennes who was known for his role in the Battle of Trafalgar, 6) Robert Emerson Lucas Jr. (1937) who was an American economist from the University of Chicago, born in Yakima, Washington, who received the Nobel Prize in his field in 1995 and was best known for developing the Lucas critique, 7) Scott Wike Lucas (1892-1968) who was an American attorney who was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1935-1939 and a Senator from Illinois from 1939-1951, 8) Richard Lucas (1648-1715) who was a Welsh clergyman and author of devotionals who was born in Presteigne, Radnorshire, 9) Major General John Porter Lucas (1890-1949) who was a senior officer in the United States Army who served in World War I and World War II, known for commanding the U.S. VI Crops at the Battle of Anzio in the Italian Campaign, nicknamed “Johnny:, “Uncle Luke”, and “Foxy Grandpa”, having been born in Kearneysville, West Virginia, and 10) Jeanne Hopkins Lucas (1935-2007) who was born in Durham and became the first African-American woman elected to the North Carolina state Senate.

Blazons & Genealogy Notes