ninan.org

Linda

Girls' name · Mid-century

Living in the US
~1,116,000 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#902 among girls
Births in 2025
294 1,458,899 since 1880
Typical age
72 years, median

Linda popularity over time

Linda rank by birth year, 1880–2025Linda ranked #305 in 1880 and #902 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #1, in 1947.#1#10#100#1,000#902best #1 in 194718901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

Linda was used most in 1947, when 99,908 babies were given the name. The name is already in use in 1880, where the data begins. It has held a top-100 place in 43 separate years.

The 2025 position is #902, on 294 births. Compared with 2015, births are down 31%. It slipped 66 places against the previous year.

Babies named Linda per yearPeaks at 99,908 births in 1947.99,908 in 1947018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Linda?

Roughly 1,116,000 Lindas are alive in the US right now. SSA has recorded 1,458,899 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Linda?

Half of living Lindas are older than 72, half younger. Most living bearers were born in the 1950s. By the site’s era rules that makes Linda a mid-century name.

Your Linda

Ages of living people named LindaHalf of living Lindas are older than 72 and half younger.median 72020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Linda is most common

Relative to births, Pennsylvania carries 3.2× the national share of Lindas. Ohio, Kentucky and California follow.

Where Linda is used more than average4 states use the name Linda more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: 1.5× the national rateOHPennsylvania: 3.2× the national ratePANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: 1.4× the national rateCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: 1.4× the national rateKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Linda is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Pennsylvania 344 3.2×
Ohio 162 1.5×
Kentucky 55 1.4×
California 538 1.4×

Linda in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Linda ranked #1,892 in 2025 on 15 births.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Linda comes from

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.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Linda

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Linda B. Buck American biologist 1947 83
Linda Hamilton American actress 1956 62
Linda Ronstadt American singer 1946 59
Linda Lovelace American pornographic actress 1949–2002 56
Linda Evangelista Canadian model 1965 51
Linda Blair American actress 1959 51
Linda Hunt American actress 1945 51
Linda Cardellini American actress (b. 1975) 1975 47
Photo credits (8)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 1,207 in 1935 to 2,449 in 1936 — 2.0 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Names similar to Linda

Matched by sound and spelling inside this dataset, then ordered by total recorded births. This is not a claim about shared etymology.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/linda.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).