Locke (surname)

Locke, sometimes spelled Lok, is a common Western surname of Germanic origin. It is also a Scottish surname and a romanization of the Chinese surname Luo.

Origin

Locke has multiple origins and meanings, including:

• from Old English, as an occupational surname for locksmiths or lock keepers;
• from Old English, Dutch, German, and English, as a toponym for one who had residence near an enclosure, particularly one that could be locked; a barrier, particularly that on a river; or a bridge;
• from Old English and Old High German, as a name for one with curly hair.
• from a romanization of "Lok", the Cantonese pronunciation of the Chinese surname Luo 駱/骆.

Locke is also the surname of a Scottish clan, with historic roots and a family seat in Peeblesshire. Variations on this surname include Loch, Lock, Lochlair, and Locklair, among others.

People with this surname

• Alain LeRoy Locke (1885–1954), African American educator, writer, and philosopher
• David Locke (disambiguation), multiple people
• Dean Jewett Locke (1823–1887), physician, founder of Lockeford, California
• Edwin A. Locke (born 1938), American psychologist known for the goal-setting theory developed with G. Latham
• Gary Locke (disambiguation), multiple people
• Geneva Locke (born 1988), Canadian actress
• George Locke (1870–1937), Canadian librarian
• Harvey Locke (born 1959), conservationist
• Jeff Locke (disambiguation), multiple people
• John Locke (disambiguation), multiple people
• Josef Locke (1917–1999), an Irish tenor
• Joseph Locke (1805–1860), English civil engineer, particularly associated with railway projects
• Keith Locke (born 1944), New Zealand Member of Parliament for the Green Party of Aotearoa, New Zealand
• Kevin Locke (disambiguation), multiple people
• Kimberley Locke (born 1978), competitor in second season of American Idol
• Lewis Locke (1835–1920), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient.
• Matthew Locke (disambiguation), multiple people
• Michael K. Locke (1952–2014), American politician
• P. J. Locke (born 1997), American football player
• Richard Adams Locke (1800–1871), 19th-century journalist and creator of the Great Moon Hoax
• Richard M. Locke (born 1959), American political scientist
• Sondra Locke (1944–2018), American actress
• William Locke (disambiguation), multiple people

Fictional characters

• Locke, a pseudonym of Peter Wiggin's in novels by Orson Scott Card
• Locke, father of Knuckles the Echidna in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic books
• Locke Cole, a character in the video game Final Fantasy VI (FF3 in North America)
• Adam Locke, Nick "Havoc" Parker's commander in the video game Command & Conquer: Renegade
• Chōjin Locke, the main character of the manga Locke the Superman
• Jameson Locke, a character in the video game Halo 5: Guardians, Fireteam Osiris leader, former ONI operative
• John Locke (Lost), in the television series Lost

See also

• Lock (surname)
• Locke (disambiguation)
• Lok (disambiguation), which includes a list of people with the surname