# Lydia (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/lydia/  
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 | Greek |
| Meaning | “the region of lydia”, “beautiful one”, “noble one” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈlɪ.di.ə/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Liddy |
| Variant spellings | Lidia |
| US babies named this | 187,317 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 278 / 187,039 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 18,670, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Λυδία (Ludía, “the region of Lydia”), from λυδία (ludía, “beautiful one, noble one”), a feminine form of Λυδός (Ludós) (Lydus, from λυδός (ludós) (lydus)). The region of Lydia is said to be named for a king Λυδός (Ludós) (Lydus, from λυδός (ludós) (lydus)); the given name Lydia originally indicated ancestry or residence in the region of Lydia.

## 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 | 3,092 | 96 |
| 2012 | 3,176 | 95 |
| 2013 | 3,262 | 95 |
| 2014 | 3,652 | 84 |
| 2015 | 3,514 | 80 |
| 2016 | 3,625 | 80 |
| 2017 | 3,341 | 85 |
| 2018 | 3,213 | 89 |
| 2019 | 3,015 | 94 |
| 2020 | 2,804 | 95 |
| 2021 | 2,935 | 89 |
| 2022 | 2,818 | 93 |
| 2023 | 2,735 | 94 |
| 2024 | 2,678 | 97 |
| 2025 | 2,692 | 92 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 5 | 6,667 |
| 1980 | 5 | 6,870 |
| 1982 | 5 | 6,970 |
| 1983 | 5 | 6,907 |
| 1984 | 8 | 4,813 |
| 1986 | 13 | 3,572 |
| 1987 | 10 | 4,451 |
| 1989 | 5 | 8,724 |
| 2004 | 16 | 5,159 |
| 2005 | 8 | 8,795 |
| 2006 | 5 | 13,254 |
| 2010 | 6 | 11,650 |
| 2013 | 5 | 13,308 |
| 2017 | 7 | 10,362 |
| 2020 | 6 | 11,450 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 589 | 100 |
| 2012 | 590 | 96 |
| 2013 | 552 | 100 |
| 2014 | 602 | 94 |
| 2015 | 550 | 103 |
| 2016 | 563 | 100 |
| 2017 | 468 | 116 |
| 2018 | 398 | 130 |
| 2019 | 375 | 133 |
| 2020 | 366 | 136 |
| 2021 | 358 | 140 |
| 2022 | 295 | 173 |
| 2023 | 320 | 159 |
| 2024 | 287 | 174 |
| 2025 | 317 | 158 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: لِيدِيَا
- Bulgarian: Ли́дия
- Catalan: Lídia
- Chinese: 利季婭 /利季娅
- Czech: Lýdie
- Danish: Lydia
- Esperanto: Lidio
- Estonian: Liidia
- Finnish: Lyyli, Lyydia
- French: Lydie, Lydia
- German: Lydia
- Greek: Λυδία
- Hebrew: לִידִיָה
- Hungarian: Lídia, Lilla
- Italian: Lidia
- Japanese: リディア
- Korean: 리디아
- Latvian: Lidija
- Norwegian: Lydia
- Polish: Lidia, Lidka

## People named Lydia

- Lydia Koidula, Estonian poet (1843-1886)
- Lydia Davis, American writer (born 1947)
- Lydia Maria Child, American abolitionist, author and women's rights activist (1802-1880)
- Lydia of Thyatira, 1st‑century Lydian merchant of purple cloth, Christian saint, early European convert to Ch
- Lydia Becker, British activist, botanist and astronomist (1827-1890)
- Lydia Lunch, American singer, author and actress
- Lydia Wideman, Finnish cross-country skier
- Lydia Jacoby, American swimmer
- Lydia de Vega, Filipina athlete (1964–2022)
- Lydia Hearst-Shaw, American model and actress
- Lydia Lassila, Australian freestyle skier
- Lydia Williams, Australian soccer player

## 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.