Lucas is classic.  Luke is cowboy cool.  Today’s choice offers a slightly more sophisticated spin on those popular picks.

Thanks to Kelly for suggesting Lucian as Name of the Day.

A baby book might tell you that Lucas derives from the Latin lux – light.  Not so.  The Greek Loukas was used to describe someone from Lucania, a moutainous district of Italy settled way back in the 5th century BC.  The Lucani may have taken their name from their word for wolf – or not.

Flip to Lucius, Lucianus and Lucian and the Latin reference is correct.  Lucius was a Roman given name related to lux.  Plenty of ancient notables answered to Lucius, and over time the family name Lucianus developed.  Lop off the -us, and you get the English Lucian.

Through the ages, the name has been worn by a few noteworthy men:

• Back in the second century, Lucian of Samosata wrote in Greek.  What’s particularly interesting is that he wrote novels – even early science fiction – at a moment when most writers were busy with history and philosophy.  He also penned an early version of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, minus, of course, Mickey Mouse;
• Born in Samosata less than a century later, St. Lucian of Antioch was martyred;
• Martyred around the same time, St. Lucian of Beauvais is sometimes listed even earlier in history, but that’s probably because of politics rather than fact.

The last Lucian is also listed as Lucien, and that’s the French spelling today.  While the two names are equivalent, you’d probably  hear Lucian given a two-syllable pronunication – LOO shan – while Lucien is usually three syllables – LOO see en.

Of course, either spelling is relatively rare.  Lucian ranked in the US Top 1000 into the 1950s, but was never common.  After many years off the charts, he now stands at #811.  Lucien kept company with Lucian into the 50s, but has yet to reappear.

French history gives us Lucien Bonaparte, baby brother to Napoleon.  Alexandre Dumas used the name for one of his many characters in The Count of Monte Cristo.  In the twentieth century, a British painter, American Army General from World War II and a Romanian poet have worn the name.

But if Lucian is back in the public eye, it has little to do with princes or poets, and more to do with werewolves.

2003′s Underworld kicked off a successful film franchise about the war between vampires and werewolves.  The second movie debuted in 2006.  In 2009, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans filled in more history.  A fourth movie – and possibly two more – are said to be in the works.  Lucian is a werewolf, and a bad guy of sorts.  We eventually learn that Lucian once played Romeo to a vampiric Juliet, with a tragic outcome worthy of Shakespeare himself.

Lucian would fit right in with Elijah, Julian and Sebastian – all Top 100 picks that might’ve been dismissed as too soft just a few decades back.  And yet he’d stand out, too.  With the nickname option of Luc or Luke waiting in the wings, Lucian could wear well on an athlete or an artist.  It’s a versatile, underused choice that stays on the right side of unusual.