See studies by N. Geldenhuys (1988) and C. A. Evans (1990).
(flourished 1st century AD; feast day October 18) In Christian tradition, the author of the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. He wrote in Greek and is considered the most literary of the New Testament writers. By his own account, he was not an eyewitness to the ministry of Jesus. He was a companion to St. Paul, who called him the “beloved physician,” and he is believed to have accompanied Paul on missionary journeys to Macedonia and Rome. Though little is known of his life, tradition holds that he was a Gentile and a native of Antioch in Syria and that he died a martyr.
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(flourished 1st century AD; feast day October 18) In Christian tradition, the author of the third Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. He wrote in Greek and is considered the most literary of the New Testament writers. By his own account, he was not an eyewitness to the ministry of Jesus. He was a companion to St. Paul, who called him the “beloved physician,” and he is believed to have accompanied Paul on missionary journeys to Macedonia and Rome. Though little is known of his life, tradition holds that he was a Gentile and a native of Antioch in Syria and that he died a martyr.
Learn more about Luke, Saint with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Luke is a common male given name, and less commonly, a surname, and sometimes used as a shortened version of the Latin name Lucas. The name Luke is derived from the name of a region in Italy, Lucania, through the Greek "Loukas", meaning "a native of Lucania". It is the 43rd most common name in the USA, and the 2105th most common surname, with 15000 people with the surname Luke (0.006%).
Famous people known as Luke include:
| Popularity Of Name Luke in U.S. | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | 1993 | 1992 | 1991 | 1990 | 1989 | 1988 | 1987 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43rd | 41st | 41st | 46th | 46th | 50th | 59th | 67th | 75th | 78th | 75th | 82nd | 91st | 87th | 93rd | 113th | 118th | 121st | 119th | 111th | |