girls' name ★ peaked 2014

Lydia

Meaning Lydia is a feminine first name Gender Girl Rank 2025 #92 Trend → Stable

Lydia is a feminine first name.

Rank 2025
#92
among girls · ↑5 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
2,692
named Lydia · +1% vs 2024
How common
1 in 597
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2014
3,652 babies
All-time total
187,317
#213 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Lydia popularity over time

187,317 babies have been named Lydia 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
123418801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 3,902 – 3,902 390 – #75
1890s 5,942 – 5,942 594 +52% #78
1900s 5,242 5 5,247 525 -12% #103
1910s 9,025 – 9,025 903 +72% #142
1920s 9,276 27 9,303 930 +3% #185
1930s 6,664 36 6,700 670 -28% #233
1940s 9,188 27 9,215 922 +38% #209
1950s 14,613 22 14,635 1,464 +59% #197
1960s 11,709 28 11,737 1,174 -20% #205
1970s 7,612 29 7,641 764 -35% #296
1980s 11,071 51 11,122 1,112 +46% #212
1990s 16,991 – 16,991 1,699 +53% #148
2000s 26,412 29 26,441 2,644 +56% #117
2010s 32,730 18 32,748 3,275 +24% #80
2020s (to 2025) 16,662 6 16,668 2,778 -15% #89

Where Lydia 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 2,655 1.65 #96
2027 2,625 1.63 #99
2028 2,599 1.62 #102
2029 2,577 1.60 #102
2030 2,559 1.59 #104

Where Lydia is most popular

Girls named Lydia per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 1.71 per 1,000. Strongest in Wyoming, Vermont, and Maine.

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 Lydia 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
Wyoming 34 7.98 +367%
Vermont 33 6.81 +299%
Maine 99 6.40 +275%
North Dakota 83 6.31 +270%
South Dakota 88 6.16 +261%
New Hampshire 86 4.66 +173%
West Virginia 119 4.54 +166%
Iowa 265 4.54 +166%
Idaho 149 4.45 +161%
Minnesota 465 4.31 +152%
Alaska 37 4.30 +152%
Montana 56 4.14 +142%
Nebraska 147 4.09 +139%
Utah 319 3.83 +124%
Kansas 218 3.78 +121%
Missouri 444 3.68 +116%
Kentucky 309 3.61 +112%
Wisconsin 372 3.61 +111%
Indiana 497 3.54 +107%
Pennsylvania 834 3.53 +106%
Delaware 38 3.35 +96%
Ohio 775 3.27 +91%
Michigan 538 2.95 +73%
Oklahoma 215 2.92 +71%
Arkansas 145 2.74 +61%
Alabama 254 2.71 +58%
Oregon 168 2.58 +51%
Tennessee 389 2.46 +44%
Colorado 270 2.42 +42%
South Carolina 215 2.39 +40%
North Carolina 539 2.37 +39%
Virginia 389 2.28 +34%
Mississippi 106 2.27 +33%
Washington 293 2.03 +19%
District of Columbia 24 2.02 +19%
Louisiana 174 1.99 +16%
Massachusetts 235 1.94 +14%
Maryland 203 1.92 +12%
Georgia 430 1.89 +11%
Rhode Island 23 1.84 +8%
Illinois 420 1.83 +7%
New Mexico 41 1.69 ≈ national
Arizona 232 1.65 ≈ national
Connecticut 95 1.63 ≈ national
Nevada 64 1.38 -19%
New York 510 1.29 -25%
Texas 1,016 1.26 -26%
Florida 493 1.15 -33%
Hawaii 11 0.960 -44%
New Jersey 170 0.942 -45%
California 685 0.815 -52%

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 Lydia

Lydia is a top-100 name for girls in the United States, ranked #92 in 2025 with 2,692 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 187,317 American babies have been named Lydia. Its peak came in 2014, when 3,652 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

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 Lydia stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Lydia?

The median living Lydia is about 23 years old; half are between 11 and 49. An estimated 141 thousand people named Lydia are alive in the United States today.

median 23 020406080100

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

Lydia 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 2,692 #92 – –
2024 2,678 #97 – –
2023 2,735 #94 – –
2022 2,818 #93 – –
2021 2,935 #89 – –
2020 2,804 #95 6 #11,450
2019 3,015 #94 – –
2018 3,213 #89 – –
2017 3,341 #85 7 #10,362
2016 3,625 #80 – –
2015 3,514 #80 – –
2014 3,652 #84 – –
2013 3,262 #95 5 #13,308
2012 3,176 #95 – –
2011 3,092 #96 – –
2010 2,840 #110 6 #11,650
2009 2,830 #117 – –
2008 2,876 #120 – –
2007 2,773 #124 – –
2006 2,668 #130 5 #13,254
2005 2,785 #119 8 #8,795
2004 2,636 #126 16 #5,159
2003 2,647 #127 – –
2002 2,512 #137 – –
2001 2,364 #140 – –
2000 2,321 #147 – –
1995 1,759 #169 – –
1990 1,406 #204 – –
1985 1,220 #212 – –
1980 862 #287 5 #6,870
1975 669 #333 7 #4,609
1970 924 #307 5 #5,165
1965 1,079 #263 7 #3,435
1960 1,670 #205 6 #3,906
1955 1,585 #200 – –
1950 1,127 #223 – –
1945 856 #224 – –
1940 726 #235 5 #3,762
1935 669 #244 10 #2,479
1930 687 #233 5 #4,335
1925 954 #207 – –
1920 1,118 #185 5 #4,697
1915 1,086 #170 – –
1910 537 #152 – –
1905 518 #123 – –
1900 644 #104 – –
1895 656 #85 – –
1890 576 #78 – –
1885 404 #77 – –
1880 302 #77 – –

Famous people named Lydia

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

  1. 1 Lydia Ko Lydia Ko New Zealand professional golfer (born 1997) Contemporary
  2. 2 Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch American singer (born 1959) Contemporary
  3. 3 Lydia Davis Lydia Davis American writer (born 1947) Contemporary
  4. 4 Lydia of Thyatira Lydia of Thyatira Christian saint 100–100 · Antiquity
  5. 5 Lydia Litvyak Lydia Litvyak Soviet flying ace (1921–1943) Contemporary
  6. 6 Lydia Shum Lydia Shum Hong Kong–Canadian comedian and actress (1945–2008) Contemporary
  7. 7 Lydia Lopokova Lydia Lopokova Russian ballet dancer (1892–1981) 19th century
  8. 8 Lydia Maria Child Lydia Maria Child American abolitionist, author, and activist (1802–1880) 19th century
  9. 9 Lydia Cacho Lydia Cacho Mexican journalist, feminist, and human rights activist b. 1963 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Lydia Chukovskaya Lydia Chukovskaya Russian writer and poet (1907–1996) Contemporary
  11. 11 Lydia Koidula Lydia Koidula Estonian poet (1843–1886) 19th century
  12. 12 Lydia Spanish pop singer b. 1980 · Contemporary
  13. 13 Lydia Wideman Lydia Wideman Finnish cross-country skier (1920–2019) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Lydia?

The median living Lydia is about 23 years old. Half of all living Lydias are between 11 and 49 years old.

How many people named Lydia are alive today?

An estimated 141 thousand people named Lydia are alive in the United States, based on 187,317 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Lydia mean?

Lydia is a feminine first name.

How popular is the name Lydia in 2025?

Lydia ranked #92 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 2,692 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Lydia?

187,317 babies have been named Lydia in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Lydia most popular?

Lydia peaked in 2014, when 3,652 newborns received the name.

Is Lydia a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Lydia rising or falling?

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

Will Lydia become more popular?

Lydia looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 2,559 girls named Lydia in 2030, ranking around #104. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Lydia?

Well-known people named Lydia include Lydia Ko (golfer), Lydia Lunch (singer), Lydia Davis (writer).

Names like Lydia

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

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