Linden
Linden is given to both girls and boys: 81 girls and 129 boys were given it in 2025 (#2,269 among girls’ names and #1,415 among boys’, #2,140 among all names counting both); 6,100 Americans have been recorded with it since 1889 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026). Boys have outnumbered girls among babies named Linden every year since 2014.
An estimated 4,920 Americans named Linden and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (81% of everyone recorded); the median is 15 years old and half are between 7 and 38.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Linden by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Linden mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Linden is “a unisex given name transferred from the surname, or for the linden tree.”
As a Dutch, German and Jewish surname, plural form of Linde.
As a Dutch and West Flemish surname, from several placenames called Linden or Lienden. Also shortened from Vanderlinden.
As a Swedish surname, from lind (“lime tree”). Compare Lindeen.
As an English surname, variant of Lindon.
As an Irish surname, shortened from McLinden, itself a variant of McClinton.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Linden?
#1,415 among boys’ names, 2025
Linden rose from #1,734 in 2015 to #1,415 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 46.4 to 75.5 per million.
210 babies in 2025, the peak
Linden peaked in 2025, when 210 babies were given it (129 boys, #1,415 among boys’ names). In 2024 it went to 114 boys.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 81 | #2,269 | 129 | #1,415 |
| 2024 | 70 | #2,547 | 114 | #1,543 |
| 2023 | 70 | #2,542 | 95 | #1,740 |
| 2022 | 90 | #2,133 | 95 | #1,758 |
| 2021 | 75 | #2,403 | 112 | #1,562 |
| 2020 | 73 | #2,409 | 107 | #1,549 |
| 2019 | 80 | #2,281 | 100 | #1,640 |
| 2018 | 81 | #2,264 | 106 | #1,580 |
| 2017 | 77 | #2,372 | 107 | #1,538 |
| 2016 | 65 | #2,683 | 99 | #1,626 |
Every recorded year (119)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 78 | #2,367 | 89 | #1,734 |
| 2014 | 58 | #2,956 | 70 | #2,033 |
| 2013 | 65 | #2,697 | 54 | #2,350 |
| 2012 | 59 | #2,921 | 59 | #2,225 |
| 2011 | 51 | #3,249 | 68 | #2,011 |
| 2010 | 62 | #2,823 | 58 | #2,249 |
| 2009 | 44 | #3,652 | 60 | #2,219 |
| 2008 | 35 | #4,412 | 55 | #2,364 |
| 2007 | 46 | #3,572 | 42 | #2,849 |
| 2006 | 35 | #4,218 | 43 | #2,721 |
| 2005 | 28 | #4,778 | 35 | #2,989 |
| 2004 | 20 | #6,114 | 44 | #2,515 |
| 2003 | 27 | #4,750 | 35 | #2,821 |
| 2002 | 17 | #6,554 | 24 | #3,621 |
| 2001 | 20 | #5,722 | 25 | #3,467 |
| 2000 | 19 | #5,837 | 14 | #5,204 |
| 1999 | 23 | #4,804 | 28 | #2,986 |
| 1998 | 14 | #6,925 | 33 | #2,580 |
| 1997 | 17 | #5,765 | 26 | #2,946 |
| 1996 | 23 | #4,517 | 20 | #3,488 |
| 1995 | 10 | #8,455 | 20 | #3,383 |
| 1994 | 21 | #4,765 | 24 | #2,993 |
| 1993 | 17 | #5,575 | 12 | #4,888 |
| 1992 | 30 | #3,626 | 22 | #3,067 |
| 1991 | 22 | #4,583 | 14 | #4,138 |
| 1990 | 16 | #5,707 | 22 | #2,916 |
| 1989 | 18 | #4,964 | 25 | #2,574 |
| 1988 | 13 | #6,111 | 13 | #3,807 |
| 1987 | 21 | #4,064 | 23 | #2,429 |
| 1986 | 31 | #3,017 | 16 | #3,070 |
| 1985 | 22 | #3,790 | 19 | #2,654 |
| 1984 | 20 | #3,931 | 13 | #3,384 |
| 1983 | 26 | #3,199 | 22 | #2,312 |
| 1982 | 15 | #4,833 | 17 | #2,777 |
| 1981 | 16 | #4,637 | 22 | #2,299 |
| 1980 | 7 | #8,668 | 13 | #3,360 |
| 1979 | 5 | #11,156 | 15 | #2,968 |
| 1978 | 6 | #9,202 | 7 | #4,842 |
| 1977 | 8 | #7,257 | 9 | #4,030 |
| 1976 | 9 | #6,352 | 11 | #3,392 |
| 1975 | under 5 | 10 | #3,573 | |
| 1974 | under 5 | 11 | #3,243 | |
| 1973 | under 5 | 18 | #2,282 | |
| 1972 | under 5 | 14 | #2,608 | |
| 1971 | under 5 | 14 | #2,640 | |
| 1970 | under 5 | 18 | #2,180 | |
| 1969 | under 5 | 16 | #2,188 | |
| 1968 | under 5 | 13 | #2,401 | |
| 1967 | under 5 | 18 | #1,876 | |
| 1966 | under 5 | 11 | #2,561 | |
| 1965 | 5 | #7,088 | 22 | #1,697 |
| 1964 | under 5 | 25 | #1,599 | |
| 1963 | 6 | #6,263 | 29 | #1,470 |
| 1962 | 7 | #5,592 | 38 | #1,267 |
| 1961 | 7 | #5,614 | 28 | #1,538 |
| 1960 | 6 | #6,079 | 31 | #1,450 |
| 1959 | 10 | #4,181 | 32 | #1,399 |
| 1958 | 16 | #3,028 | 46 | #1,143 |
| 1957 | 11 | #3,822 | 38 | #1,273 |
| 1956 | 5 | #6,477 | 47 | #1,114 |
| 1955 | 10 | #3,935 | 38 | #1,231 |
| 1954 | 8 | #4,485 | 40 | #1,191 |
| 1953 | 8 | #4,428 | 49 | #1,040 |
| 1952 | 13 | #3,124 | 34 | #1,285 |
| 1951 | 8 | #4,219 | 35 | #1,252 |
| 1950 | 9 | #3,828 | 32 | #1,279 |
| 1949 | 7 | #4,479 | 40 | #1,120 |
| 1948 | 6 | #4,996 | 43 | #1,087 |
| 1947 | 8 | #4,193 | 57 | #928 |
| 1946 | 6 | #4,738 | 41 | #1,085 |
| 1945 | 6 | #4,307 | 31 | #1,193 |
| 1944 | under 5 | 43 | #997 | |
| 1943 | under 5 | 46 | #990 | |
| 1942 | under 5 | 44 | #1,017 | |
| 1941 | under 5 | 30 | #1,224 | |
| 1940 | under 5 | 39 | #1,041 | |
| 1939 | under 5 | 31 | #1,182 | |
| 1938 | under 5 | 30 | #1,210 | |
| 1937 | under 5 | 33 | #1,157 | |
| 1936 | under 5 | 21 | #1,486 | |
| 1935 | under 5 | 24 | #1,412 | |
| 1934 | under 5 | 14 | #1,983 | |
| 1933 | under 5 | 35 | #1,116 | |
| 1932 | under 5 | 20 | #1,625 | |
| 1931 | under 5 | 20 | #1,620 | |
| 1930 | under 5 | 30 | #1,319 | |
| 1929 | under 5 | 21 | #1,648 | |
| 1928 | under 5 | 22 | #1,628 | |
| 1927 | under 5 | 47 | #1,026 | |
| 1926 | under 5 | 23 | #1,593 | |
| 1925 | under 5 | 23 | #1,611 | |
| 1924 | under 5 | 17 | #2,015 | |
| 1923 | under 5 | 32 | #1,290 | |
| 1922 | under 5 | 25 | #1,530 | |
| 1921 | under 5 | 22 | #1,683 | |
| 1920 | under 5 | 28 | #1,409 | |
| 1919 | under 5 | 14 | #2,211 | |
| 1918 | under 5 | 22 | #1,634 | |
| 1917 | under 5 | 28 | #1,314 | |
| 1916 | under 5 | 24 | #1,450 | |
| 1915 | under 5 | 25 | #1,360 | |
| 1914 | under 5 | 15 | #1,654 | |
| 1913 | under 5 | 14 | #1,477 | |
| 1912 | under 5 | 7 | #2,157 | |
| 1911 | under 5 | 6 | #1,652 | |
| 1910 | under 5 | 8 | #1,265 | |
| 1908 | under 5 | 5 | #1,514 | |
| 1907 | under 5 | 5 | #1,460 | |
| 1889 | under 5 | 5 | #1,046 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Linden a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 6,100 Americans recorded as Linden, 33% are girls and 67% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Linden: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Linden, and how old are they?
4,920 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 81% of the 6,100 Americans ever recorded as Linden. The median Linden alive today is 15 years old; half are between 7 and 38.
The 2020 Census counted 4,302 people named Linden (1,583 women and girls, 2,719 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 4,046 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 123 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 585 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 231 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 601 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,150 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,230 |
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 Linden born?
The states with the most babies named Linden are California, Colorado and Texas, with 45% of its births recorded by state in 2025; Colorado is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 14 | #1,342 | 0.5× |
| Colorado | 8 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Texas | 7 | #2,206 | 0.3× |
| New York | 7 | #1,504 | 0.2× |
| Missouri | 7 | #761 | 0.2× |
| Minnesota | 6 | #766 | 0.6× |
| Wisconsin | 6 | #747 | 0.2× |
| Washington | 5 | #1,086 | 0.3× |
| Tennessee | 5 | #1,128 | 0.2× |
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ 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 Linden 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 4 names spelled alike, given to 19,707 babies since 1880, Linden is the second most given (31% of them). In 2025 it was given to 210 of their 358 babies (59%), the most given that year.
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 Linden
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 Linden and names like it
- Compare Linden and LyndonBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sLinden peaked in 2025.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Linden since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Linden: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2025The year the most babies were named Linden.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Linden alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with LMost given first.