Locke

Locke is an English surname with more than one possible route, including words connected with a lock of hair and an enclosure. Its final e is part of the surname’s spelling and does not establish a different meaning from Lock. Family history is needed to identify the precise origin of an individual line.

Philosopher John Locke gives the name an important intellectual association through his writings on knowledge and government. Fiction also offers a prominent John Locke in the television series Lost, though that is a much later cultural reference. As a first name, Locke preserves a recognizable surname in one syllable. Parents may choose it for a family connection or a particular namesake rather than for one guaranteed literal translation.