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Linda

Gender
Girl
Say it
LIN-da
Origin
Germanic
UK rank, 2025
#1,961 for girls
US rank, 2025
#902 for girls

Linda is a girls' name of Germanic origin, meaning “soft, gentle”. In 2025 it ranked 1,961st for girls in the UK (15 babies) and 902nd for girls in the US (294 babies).

What does Linda mean?

Germanic: short form of Germanic names containing lind

“soft, gentle”

Began as a short form of Germanic names containing lind, gentle; linda is also Spanish and Portuguese for pretty.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Linda a girl's or a boy's name?

Linda is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 15 girls in the UK and 294 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Linda in the UK?

Rank in 2025
1,961st among girls
Babies in 2025
15 about 1 in 19,000 girls
Five-year trend
Steady up 2% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 15 girls in the UK were named Linda, making it the 1,961st most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,647th. Its busiest year was 1997, with 48 girls.

2025 had the fewest girls named Linda since the records began in 1996.

Half of all the girls named Linda in the UK since 1996 were born between 2001 and 2016. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.

Among girls in 2025, it was 1,892nd in England and Wales.

In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1944 (#24), 1954 (#2), 1964 (#18) and 1974 (#76).

1996Busiest: 48 in 19972025
Linda in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
202515#1,961
202423#1,449
202328#1,247
202220#1,591
202127#1,295
202019#1,647
201925#1,368
201821#1,577
201724#1,455
201630#1,209
201532#1,160
201436#1,053
201321#1,559
201235#1,078
201139#977
201030#1,167
200936#976
200831#1,064
200727#1,138
200628#1,062
200529#982
200422#1,154
200331#901
200221#1,121
200134#783
200040#682
199928#861
199834#761
199748#606
199644#610

How popular is Linda in the US?

Rank in 2025
902nd among girls
Babies in 2025
294 about 1 in 5,500 girls
Five-year trend
Steady down 14% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 294 girls in the US were named Linda, making it the 902nd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 814th. Its busiest year was 1947, with 99,692 girls.

2025 had fewer girls named Linda than any year since 1919.

Half of all the girls named Linda in the US since 1880 were born between 1947 and 1958, the years shaded on the chart below.

1880Busiest: 99,692 in 19472025
Linda in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025294#902
2024324#836
2023324#841
2022352#800
2021328#841
2020334#814
2019362#768
2018398#717
2017410#704
2016444#658
2015429#664
2014475#612
2013447#626
2012450#633
2011491#587
2010480#614
2009555#548
2008614#507
2007662#492
2006700#451
2005754#415
2004731#417
2003741#409
2002773#382
2001839#354
2000851#357
1999900#336
1998972#312
19971,099#263
1996987#293
19951,234#230
19941,284#221
19931,488#198
19921,582#191
19911,608#187
19901,661#175
19891,844#157
19881,845#155
19871,931#142
19861,950#148
19852,114#137
19842,336#119
19832,474#119
19822,791#107
19812,728#111
19802,806#110
19792,739#114
19782,932#100
19772,912#99
19763,138#90
19753,522#81
19744,077#75
19734,731#61
19725,742#51
19717,376#42
19708,731#38
196910,246#33
196811,371#28
196713,196#26
196615,566#18
196519,345#8
196423,629#8
196327,727#5
196231,461#5
196135,597#4
196037,316#3
195940,410#3
195841,904#3
195744,517#3
195648,084#3
195551,300#3
195455,371#2
195361,281#2
195267,082#1
195173,982#1
195080,433#1
194991,015#1
194896,220#1
194799,692#1
194652,710#2
194541,465#2
194438,415#3
194338,439#4
194231,613#4
194123,721#5
194018,370#8
193910,713#15
19387,047#31
19374,378#49
19362,440#97
19351,197#165
19341,000#182
1933782#216
1932774#219
1931535#269
1930492#299
1929509#289
1928555#277
1927516#295
1926480#305
1925438#320
1924454#314
1923423#312
1922365#339
1921367#341
1920348#352
1919282#385
1918322#359
1917291#370
1916297#356
1915290#349
1914219#358
1913238#306
1912189#329
1911130#350
1910137#335
1909105#352
190893#372
1907102#350
190698#337
1905105#329
1904101#323
190390#326
190291#324
190186#326
1900125#293
189998#298
1898102#311
189781#326
1896104#287
189596#288
189494#285
189382#300
189283#296
189178#282
189054#348
188974#277
188877#262
188750#302
188649#294
188560#255
188433#341
188349#257
188236#294
188138#262
188027#305

Nicknames for Linda

Names like Linda

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Emma, Laura, Charlotte, Lisa, Ella, Billie, Lana, Alice, Ada, Anna, Martha, Etta

Names related to Linda

Lindy, Lynda, Lindie, Lindi, Lindee

More Germanic names

Amelia, Liam, Henry, William, Archie, Charlie, Freddie, Harry, Millie, Albie, Matilda, Louie, Miles, Myles, Charles, Lottie

Every Germanic name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Linda: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/linda, updated 20 October 2026.