girls' name ★ peaked 1947

Linda

Meaning tender, soft Gender Girl Rank 2025 #902 Trend ↓ Falling 11%

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…

Rank 2025
#902
among girls · ↓66 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
294
named Linda · -9% vs 2024
How common
1 in 5,467
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1947
99,908 babies
All-time total
1,458,899
#5 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Linda popularity over time

1,458,899 babies have been named Linda since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
18.7537.556.257518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 493 – 493 49 – #257
1890s 872 – 872 87 +77% #283
1900s 996 – 996 100 +14% #295
1910s 2,395 – 2,395 240 +140% #307
1920s 4,455 13 4,468 447 +87% #278
1930s 29,358 124 29,482 2,948 +560% #15
1940s 531,660 1,329 532,989 53,299 +1708% #1
1950s 564,364 1,169 565,533 56,553 +6% #1
1960s 225,454 684 226,138 22,614 -60% #3
1970s 45,900 224 46,124 4,612 -80% #38
1980s 22,819 162 22,981 2,298 -50% #107
1990s 12,815 51 12,866 1,287 -44% #175
2000s 7,220 – 7,220 722 -44% #354
2010s 4,386 – 4,386 439 -39% #590
2020s (to 2025) 1,956 – 1,956 326 -26% #802

Where Linda is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 288 0.18 outside top 500
2027 283 0.18 outside top 500
2028 278 0.17 outside top 500
2029 275 0.17 outside top 500
2030 272 0.17 outside top 500

Where Linda is most popular

Girls named Linda per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.200 per 1,000. Strongest in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Ohio.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Linda born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Pennsylvania 179 0.757 +279%
Kentucky 31 0.362 +81%
Ohio 74 0.312 +56%
Wisconsin 31 0.301 +51%
Indiana 42 0.299 +50%
Michigan 50 0.275 +37%
Texas 208 0.259 +29%
Illinois 52 0.227 +14%
North Carolina 51 0.224 +12%
New York 88 0.222 +11%
Florida 95 0.222 +11%
California 184 0.219 +9%
Idaho 7 0.209 +5%
Minnesota 21 0.195 ≈ national
Virginia 32 0.188 -6%
Georgia 42 0.185 -8%
Tennessee 27 0.170 -15%
New Jersey 26 0.144 -28%
Missouri 17 0.141 -29%
Alabama 11 0.117 -41%
Maryland 12 0.113 -43%
Kansas 6 0.104 -48%
Washington 15 0.104 -48%
Arizona 14 0.100 -50%
Arkansas 5 0.095 -53%
Oregon 5 0.077 -62%
Utah 6 0.072 -64%
Oklahoma 5 0.068 -66%
Colorado 7 0.063 -69%
South Carolina 5 0.056 -72%
Massachusetts 5 0.041 -79%
Alaska – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Louisiana – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Linda

Linda is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #902 in 2025 with 294 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 1,458,899 American babies have been named Linda. Its peak came in 1947, when 99,908 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1940s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Linda stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Linda?

The median living Linda is about 72 years old; half are between 65 and 77. An estimated 1.1 million people named Linda are alive in the United States today.

median 72 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Linda year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 294 #902 – –
2024 324 #836 – –
2023 324 #841 – –
2022 352 #802 – –
2021 328 #844 – –
2020 334 #815 – –
2019 362 #769 – –
2018 398 #718 – –
2017 410 #704 – –
2016 444 #663 – –
2015 429 #666 – –
2014 475 #612 – –
2013 447 #627 – –
2012 450 #634 – –
2011 491 #590 – –
2010 480 #615 – –
2009 555 #549 – –
2008 614 #507 – –
2007 662 #492 – –
2006 700 #451 – –
2005 754 #415 – –
2004 731 #419 – –
2003 741 #409 – –
2002 773 #382 – –
2001 839 #354 – –
2000 851 #357 – –
1995 1,234 #231 – –
1990 1,661 #175 11 #4,875
1985 2,114 #137 12 #3,714
1980 2,806 #110 18 #2,681
1975 3,522 #81 20 #2,259
1970 8,731 #38 38 #1,363
1965 19,345 #8 63 #933
1960 37,316 #3 96 #779
1955 51,300 #3 104 #718
1950 80,433 #1 130 #601
1945 41,465 #2 111 #578
1940 18,370 #8 59 #814
1935 1,197 #165 10 #2,477
1930 492 #299 – –
1925 438 #320 6 #4,000
1920 348 #353 – –
1915 290 #349 – –
1910 137 #336 – –
1905 105 #330 – –
1900 125 #295 – –
1895 96 #290 – –
1890 54 #348 – –
1885 60 #257 – –
1880 27 #305 – –

Famous people named Linda

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Linda Cardellini Linda Cardellini American actress (born 1975) Contemporary
  2. 2 Linda Hamilton Linda Hamilton American actress (born 1956) Contemporary
  3. 3 Linda Ronstadt Linda Ronstadt American singer (born 1946) Contemporary
  4. 4 Linda McCartney Linda McCartney American photographer and musician (1941–1998) Contemporary
  5. 5 Linda Perry Linda Perry American singer and songwriter (born 1965) Contemporary
  6. 6 Linda McMahon Linda McMahon American administrator and business executive (born 1948) Contemporary
  7. 7 Linda Lovelace Linda Lovelace American pornographic actress turned anti-porn activist (1949–2002) Contemporary
  8. 8 Linda Kozlowski Linda Kozlowski American actress (born 1958) Contemporary
  9. 9 Linda Blair Linda Blair American actress and activist (born 1959) Contemporary
  10. 10 Linda Lee Cadwell Linda Lee Cadwell American teacher, writer, the widow of Bruce Lee b. 1945 · Contemporary
  11. 11 Linda Fiorentino American actress (born 1958) Contemporary
  12. 12 Linda Evans Linda Evans American actress b. 1942 · Contemporary
  13. 13 Linda Hunt Linda Hunt American actress (born 1945) Contemporary
  14. 14 Linda Lavin Actor, United States b. 1937 · Contemporary
  15. 15 Linda Evangelista Linda Evangelista Canadian model (born 1965) Contemporary
  16. 16 Linda Darnell Linda Darnell American actress (1923–1965) Contemporary
  17. 17 Linda Gray Linda Gray American actress (born 1940) Contemporary
  18. 18 Linda Thompson Linda Thompson American beauty queen, actress, and songwriter b. 1950 · Contemporary
  19. 19 Linda Christian Linda Christian Mexican actress (1923–2011) Contemporary
  20. 20 Linda Cristal Linda Cristal Argentine-American actress (1931–2020) 1934–2020 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Linda, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Linda?

The median living Linda is about 72 years old. Half of all living Lindas are between 65 and 77 years old.

How many people named Linda are alive today?

An estimated 1.1 million people named Linda are alive in the United States, based on 1,458,899 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Linda mean?

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…

How popular is the name Linda in 2025?

Linda ranked #902 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 294 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Linda?

1,458,899 babies have been named Linda in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Linda most popular?

Linda peaked in 1947, when 99,908 newborns received the name.

Is Linda a boy or girl name?

Linda is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Linda rising or falling?

Linda is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Linda become more popular?

Linda is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 272 girls named Linda in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Linda?

Well-known people named Linda include Linda Cardellini (actor), Linda Hamilton (actor), Linda Ronstadt (singer).

Names like Linda

Names that sound and feel close to Linda: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Linda with similar names → More names starting with L →