Lucia is the feminine form of the Latin Lucius and comes from lux, meaning "light". Saint Lucia of Syracuse, a fourth-century martyr, is celebrated on December 13 with candle-lit processions across Scandinavia and Italy. Pronounced loo-SEE-ah or loo-CHEE-ah, the name has climbed in the United States from number 490 in 2000 to the top 100 in 2024 and reached number 83 in 2025, its best rank so far.