# Linda (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/linda/  
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 | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “tender”, “soft”, “gentle”, “mild”, “pliable”, “limber”, “beautiful” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈlɪndə/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Linnie, Lyn |
| Variant spellings | Lynda |
| US babies named this | 1,458,899 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 3,756 / 1,455,143 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 775, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Latinised short form of Germanic compound names ending in -lind, -linde (“tender, soft”) (English -inda), such as Sieglinde and Dietlinde, and earlier names such as Old High German Irmilinda and Old Dutch Frithelind, from Proto-Germanic *linþaz (“gentle, mild”), whence also Old English līþe (“gentle, mild, pliable, limber”) (English lithe). Later misassociated with unrelated Spanish linda (“beautiful”). The name became known through 19th century literature and the opera Linda di Chamounix (1842). More at lithe. The coordination language is named after Linda Lovelace, a reference to the programming language Ada, itself named after Ada Lovelace.

## What it means

Linda is grouped under beauty.

## 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 | 491 | 590 |
| 2012 | 450 | 634 |
| 2013 | 447 | 627 |
| 2014 | 475 | 612 |
| 2015 | 429 | 666 |
| 2016 | 444 | 663 |
| 2017 | 410 | 704 |
| 2018 | 398 | 718 |
| 2019 | 362 | 769 |
| 2020 | 334 | 815 |
| 2021 | 328 | 844 |
| 2022 | 352 | 802 |
| 2023 | 324 | 841 |
| 2024 | 324 | 836 |
| 2025 | 294 | 902 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 18 | 2,681 |
| 1981 | 15 | 2,976 |
| 1982 | 19 | 2,567 |
| 1983 | 24 | 2,181 |
| 1984 | 12 | 3,591 |
| 1985 | 12 | 3,714 |
| 1986 | 21 | 2,576 |
| 1987 | 15 | 3,286 |
| 1988 | 9 | 5,051 |
| 1989 | 17 | 3,393 |
| 1990 | 11 | 4,875 |
| 1991 | 10 | 5,338 |
| 1992 | 12 | 4,750 |
| 1993 | 7 | 7,295 |
| 1994 | 11 | 5,306 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 34 | 1,015 |
| 2012 | 28 | 1,184 |
| 2013 | 18 | 1,639 |
| 2014 | 35 | 1,016 |
| 2015 | 32 | 1,088 |
| 2016 | 26 | 1,278 |
| 2017 | 21 | 1,512 |
| 2018 | 20 | 1,526 |
| 2019 | 23 | 1,349 |
| 2020 | 18 | 1,618 |
| 2021 | 23 | 1,351 |
| 2022 | 18 | 1,621 |
| 2023 | 27 | 1,206 |
| 2024 | 23 | 1,406 |
| 2025 | 15 | 1,892 |

## In other languages

- Bulgarian: Ли́нда
- Chinese: 琳達 /琳达
- Greek: Λίντα
- Russian: Ли́нда
- Spanish: Linda

## People named Linda

- Linda B. Buck, American biologist
- Linda Hamilton, American actress
- Linda Ronstadt, American singer (born 1946)
- Linda Lovelace, American pornographic actress (1949-2002)
- Linda Evangelista, Canadian model (born 1965)
- Linda Blair, American actress
- Linda Hunt, American actress
- Linda Cardellini, American actress (b. 1975)
- Linda McCartney, American photographer, musician and animal rights activist (1941–1998)
- Linda Darnell, American actress (1923–1965)
- Linda Nosková, Czech tennis player (born 2004)
- Linda Thomas-Greenfield, American diplomat (born 1952)

## 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.