Linda
Linda was given to 294 girls in 2025, #902 among girls’ names; 1,458,899 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1.06 million Americans named Linda and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (72% of everyone recorded); the median is 73 years old and half are between 66 and 78.
Linda is the #4 most common first name among living American women and girls, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Linda by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Linda mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Linda is “a female given name from the Germanic languages.” Its etymology gives the senses “tender, soft” (-linde) and “gentle, mild” (*linþaz) and “gentle, mild, pliable, limber” (līþe).
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).
/ˈlɪndə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Linda?
#902 among girls’ names, 2025
Linda fell from #666 in 2015 to #902 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.24 to 0.18 per 1,000.
99,908 babies in 1947, the peak
Linda peaked in 1947, when 99,908 babies were given it (99,692 girls, #1 among girls’ names). The 294 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 294 | #902 | 0.18 |
| 2024 | 324 | #836 | 0.20 |
| 2023 | 324 | #841 | 0.20 |
| 2022 | 352 | #802 | 0.21 |
| 2021 | 328 | #844 | 0.20 |
| 2020 | 334 | #815 | 0.21 |
| 2019 | 362 | #769 | 0.22 |
| 2018 | 398 | #718 | 0.23 |
| 2017 | 410 | #704 | 0.24 |
| 2016 | 444 | #663 | 0.25 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 429 | #666 | 0.24 |
| 2014 | 475 | #612 | 0.27 |
| 2013 | 447 | #627 | 0.25 |
| 2012 | 450 | #634 | 0.26 |
| 2011 | 491 | #590 | 0.28 |
| 2010 | 480 | #615 | 0.27 |
| 2009 | 555 | #549 | 0.30 |
| 2008 | 614 | #507 | 0.32 |
| 2007 | 662 | #492 | 0.34 |
| 2006 | 700 | #451 | 0.37 |
| 2005 | 754 | #415 | 0.41 |
| 2004 | 731 | #419 | 0.40 |
| 2003 | 741 | #409 | 0.41 |
| 2002 | 773 | #382 | 0.43 |
| 2001 | 839 | #354 | 0.47 |
| 2000 | 851 | #357 | 0.47 |
| 1999 | 900 | #336 | 0.51 |
| 1998 | 972 | #313 | 0.55 |
| 1997 | 1,099 | #264 | 0.63 |
| 1996 | 987 | #293 | 0.56 |
| 1995 | 1,234 | #231 | 0.70 |
| 1994 | 1,284 | #221 | 0.72 |
| 1993 | 1,488 | #198 | 0.82 |
| 1992 | 1,582 | #191 | 0.86 |
| 1991 | 1,608 | #187 | 0.86 |
| 1990 | 1,661 | #175 | 0.87 |
| 1989 | 1,844 | #157 | 1.0 |
| 1988 | 1,845 | #155 | 1.0 |
| 1987 | 1,931 | #142 | 1.1 |
| 1986 | 1,950 | #148 | 1.1 |
| 1985 | 2,114 | #137 | 1.2 |
| 1984 | 2,336 | #119 | 1.4 |
| 1983 | 2,474 | #119 | 1.5 |
| 1982 | 2,791 | #107 | 1.6 |
| 1981 | 2,728 | #111 | 1.6 |
| 1980 | 2,806 | #110 | 1.7 |
| 1979 | 2,739 | #114 | 1.7 |
| 1978 | 2,932 | #100 | 1.9 |
| 1977 | 2,912 | #99 | 1.9 |
| 1976 | 3,138 | #90 | 2.1 |
| 1975 | 3,522 | #81 | 2.4 |
| 1974 | 4,077 | #75 | 2.8 |
| 1973 | 4,731 | #61 | 3.2 |
| 1972 | 5,742 | #51 | 3.8 |
| 1971 | 7,376 | #42 | 4.4 |
| 1970 | 8,731 | #38 | 5.0 |
| 1969 | 10,246 | #33 | 6.1 |
| 1968 | 11,371 | #28 | 6.9 |
| 1967 | 13,196 | #26 | 8.0 |
| 1966 | 15,566 | #18 | 9.2 |
| 1965 | 19,345 | #8 | 11.0 |
| 1964 | 23,629 | #8 | 12.5 |
| 1963 | 27,727 | #5 | 14.4 |
| 1962 | 31,461 | #5 | 16.0 |
| 1961 | 35,597 | #4 | 17.6 |
| 1960 | 37,316 | #3 | 18.5 |
| 1959 | 40,410 | #3 | 20.0 |
| 1958 | 41,904 | #3 | 20.8 |
| 1957 | 44,517 | #3 | 21.8 |
| 1956 | 48,084 | #3 | 23.9 |
| 1955 | 51,300 | #3 | 26.2 |
| 1954 | 55,371 | #2 | 28.5 |
| 1953 | 61,281 | #2 | 32.6 |
| 1952 | 67,082 | #1 | 36.2 |
| 1951 | 73,982 | #1 | 41.1 |
| 1950 | 80,433 | #1 | 47.0 |
| 1949 | 91,015 | #1 | 53.2 |
| 1948 | 96,220 | #1 | 56.7 |
| 1947 | 99,692 | #1 | 56.2 |
| 1946 | 52,710 | #2 | 33.5 |
| 1945 | 41,465 | #2 | 31.7 |
| 1944 | 38,415 | #3 | 28.9 |
| 1943 | 38,439 | #4 | 27.5 |
| 1942 | 31,613 | #4 | 23.4 |
| 1941 | 23,721 | #5 | 19.6 |
| 1940 | 18,370 | #8 | 16.1 |
| 1939 | 10,713 | #15 | 9.8 |
| 1938 | 7,047 | #31 | 6.4 |
| 1937 | 4,378 | #49 | 4.1 |
| 1936 | 2,440 | #97 | 2.3 |
| 1935 | 1,197 | #165 | 1.1 |
| 1934 | 1,000 | #182 | 1.0 |
| 1933 | 782 | #216 | 0.78 |
| 1932 | 774 | #219 | 0.73 |
| 1931 | 535 | #269 | 0.50 |
| 1930 | 492 | #299 | 0.44 |
| 1929 | 509 | #289 | 0.46 |
| 1928 | 555 | #278 | 0.48 |
| 1927 | 516 | #295 | 0.43 |
| 1926 | 480 | #305 | 0.40 |
| 1925 | 438 | #320 | 0.36 |
| 1924 | 454 | #314 | 0.36 |
| 1923 | 423 | #313 | 0.35 |
| 1922 | 365 | #339 | 0.30 |
| 1921 | 367 | #341 | 0.30 |
| 1920 | 348 | #353 | 0.29 |
| 1919 | 282 | #386 | 0.25 |
| 1918 | 322 | #359 | 0.28 |
| 1917 | 291 | #370 | 0.27 |
| 1916 | 297 | #356 | 0.28 |
| 1915 | 290 | #349 | 0.29 |
| 1914 | 219 | #358 | 0.29 |
| 1913 | 238 | #307 | 0.38 |
| 1912 | 189 | #329 | 0.34 |
| 1911 | 130 | #352 | 0.31 |
| 1910 | 137 | #336 | 0.35 |
| 1909 | 105 | #354 | 0.30 |
| 1908 | 93 | #373 | 0.28 |
| 1907 | 102 | #350 | 0.32 |
| 1906 | 98 | #337 | 0.33 |
| 1905 | 105 | #330 | 0.36 |
| 1904 | 101 | #323 | 0.37 |
| 1903 | 90 | #330 | 0.34 |
| 1902 | 91 | #327 | 0.34 |
| 1901 | 86 | #327 | 0.36 |
| 1900 | 125 | #295 | 0.42 |
| 1899 | 98 | #298 | 0.42 |
| 1898 | 102 | #311 | 0.39 |
| 1897 | 81 | #327 | 0.35 |
| 1896 | 104 | #287 | 0.44 |
| 1895 | 96 | #290 | 0.41 |
| 1894 | 94 | #285 | 0.42 |
| 1893 | 82 | #301 | 0.39 |
| 1892 | 83 | #296 | 0.39 |
| 1891 | 78 | #283 | 0.42 |
| 1890 | 54 | #348 | 0.28 |
| 1889 | 74 | #279 | 0.41 |
| 1888 | 77 | #264 | 0.43 |
| 1887 | 50 | #304 | 0.34 |
| 1886 | 49 | #295 | 0.34 |
| 1885 | 60 | #257 | 0.45 |
| 1884 | 33 | #345 | 0.26 |
| 1883 | 49 | #257 | 0.44 |
| 1882 | 36 | #295 | 0.33 |
| 1881 | 38 | #265 | 0.41 |
| 1880 | 27 | #305 | 0.30 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Linda a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Linda has been given almost only to girls: 3,756 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Linda: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Linda, and how old are they?
1.06 million alive in 2026, estimated
That is 72% of the 1,458,899 Americans ever recorded as Linda. The median Linda alive today is 73 years old; half are between 66 and 78.
The 2020 Census counted 1,164,876 people named Linda (1,164,024 women and girls, 852 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,177,183 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 108,000 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 794,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 109,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 29,200 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 11,500 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,890 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Linda born?
The states with the most babies named Linda are California, New York and Pennsylvania, with 22% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 115,237 | #926 | 1.0× |
| New York | 114,373 | #1,064 | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 89,244 | #299 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 84,249 | #791 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 79,519 | #774 | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 78,593 | #1,078 | 1.0× |
| Michigan | 64,473 | #832 | 1.0× |
| North Carolina | 44,073 | #570 | 1.0× |
| New Jersey | 40,884 | #1,104 | 0.9× |
| Massachusetts | 40,713 | not ranked | 0.9× |
Where Linda is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Linda is most over-represented in Oklahoma: since 1910 it was given 1.1 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Linda with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 1,553,036 babies since 1880, Linda is the most given (94% of them). In 2025 it was given to 294 of their 532 babies (55%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Linda
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Linda and names like it
- Compare Linda and LyndaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sLinda peaked in 1947.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Linda since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Linda: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1947The year the most babies were named Linda.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Linda alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with LMost given first.