# Lincoln (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/lincoln/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | “the roman settlement lindum colonia”, “pool”, “lake”, “liquid” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈlɪŋ.kən/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Link, Linc |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 106,968 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 104,918 / 2,050 (2% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 5,773, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Inherited from Middle English Lincolne, from Old English Lincolle, Lindcolen, Lindcylene, from Latin Lindum Colōnia (“the Roman settlement Lindum Colonia”), from Proto-Brythonic *llɨnn (“pool”), from Proto-Celtic *lindos (“lake, liquid”), in reference to the Brayford. In the United States, many of the places established since 1865 are named after Abraham Lincoln.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 24 | 5,651 |
| 2012 | 34 | 4,346 |
| 2013 | 61 | 2,826 |
| 2014 | 127 | 1,668 |
| 2015 | 158 | 1,459 |
| 2016 | 164 | 1,416 |
| 2017 | 241 | 1,066 |
| 2018 | 165 | 1,368 |
| 2019 | 185 | 1,256 |
| 2020 | 183 | 1,243 |
| 2021 | 148 | 1,455 |
| 2022 | 126 | 1,672 |
| 2023 | 89 | 2,152 |
| 2024 | 77 | 2,377 |
| 2025 | 75 | 2,396 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2,158 | 179 |
| 2012 | 2,912 | 132 |
| 2013 | 4,039 | 95 |
| 2014 | 4,824 | 87 |
| 2015 | 6,001 | 66 |
| 2016 | 7,129 | 51 |
| 2017 | 8,202 | 41 |
| 2018 | 7,408 | 41 |
| 2019 | 7,473 | 41 |
| 2020 | 7,061 | 40 |
| 2021 | 6,700 | 45 |
| 2022 | 5,625 | 54 |
| 2023 | 4,866 | 64 |
| 2024 | 4,580 | 73 |
| 2025 | 4,703 | 69 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 166 | 271 |
| 2012 | 182 | 263 |
| 2013 | 271 | 204 |
| 2014 | 291 | 195 |
| 2015 | 479 | 129 |
| 2016 | 478 | 128 |
| 2017 | 593 | 106 |
| 2018 | 462 | 125 |
| 2019 | 406 | 141 |
| 2020 | 371 | 149 |
| 2021 | 324 | 164 |
| 2022 | 254 | 202 |
| 2023 | 190 | 249 |
| 2024 | 180 | 260 |
| 2025 | 151 | 302 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: لِنْكِن
- Armenian: Լինկոլն
- Bulgarian: Ли́нкълн
- Chinese: 林肯
- Danish: Lincoln
- German: Lincoln
- Greek: Λίνκολν
- Russian: Ли́нкольн

## People named Lincoln

- George Lincoln Rockwell, American founder of the American Nazi Party (1918–1967)
- Lincoln Ellsworth, American explorer (1880–1951)
- Lincoln Chafee, American politician and former United States Senator from Rhode Island
- Lincoln, Brazilian footballer (born 1979)
- Lincoln Steffens, American journalist (1866-1936)
- Lincoln Díaz-Balart, American politician (1954–2025)
- Lincoln Corrêa dos Santos, Brazilian association football player
- Lincoln Henrique, Brazilian association football player
- Lincoln Kirstein, American writer (1907–1996)
- Lincoln Child, American writer (born 1957)
- Lincoln Almond, American attorney, politician, and member of the Republican Party (1936–2023)
- Lincoln Lewis, Australian actor

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.