The name Linda is a boy's name meaning "pretty; soft, tender; wait".

States’ Most Popular Names 2014

Classic Boys’ Names: The Alexandrians from Alex to Xander

Knightly Names of Camelot

1950s Girls’ Names: Where are Sharon and Sandra now?

New Baby Name Trend: The Lu/Lou boys

Don't Name Your Daughter Harper

Hiding in Plain Sight: the Secret Popularity of Lynn and Lee

2013 Baby Names: The state of the States’ popularity

Names That Sound Smart

The REAL Top Baby Names of All Time!

Best L Names for Girls

100 Brilliant Boy Names in Translation

A mid-century favorite for girls, Linda has appeared in the US charts for boys. Some of this may have been down to data entry errors, especially before the system was computerized, though whether that explains all 216 boys given the name in 1947 is unknown. 
 
In fact, Linda can be a masculine Zulu name, meaning "wait", in which case, it would be pronounced LEEN-da. In Swahili, it may additionally be used to mean "guard" or "defend" and forms parts of other names, which from its Albanian roots, it means "birth" and usually forms parts of other names such as Lindamir or Erlind.

Name your Daughters (Ireland 🇮🇪)

Pauline?

Linda

The name Linda peaked for boys at #458 in 1947. Linda is also used for girls, ranking #902 in 2025.

The name Linda is a girl's name of Spanish, Italian, Portuguese origin meaning "pretty".

Spanish Names

Italian Names

Portuguese Names

Spanish Names for Girls

Italian Names for Girls

Portuguese Names for Girls

5 Letter Girl Names

Names Ending in A for Girls

Names That Mean Pretty

Names That Mean Name

Names That Mean Meaning

Two Syllable Names for Girls

Names that Peaked in 1947

Names that Peaked in 1948

Names that Peaked in 1949

Names that Peaked in 1950

Names that Peaked in 1951

Names that Peaked in 1952

Girl Dog Names That Start With L

Girl Cat Names That Start With L

Dog Names That Start With L

Cat Names That Start With L

Names ending in a

Spanish Names that Start With L

Italian Names that Start With L

Portuguese Names that Start With L

Linda will live forever in baby name history for toppling Mary from its four hundred year reign as Number 1. Queen of Names in 1947, Linda has fallen even further in favor than Mary today. 

Still, Linda continues to hang on in the US Top 1000, and many contemporary baby namers might consider Linda as an honor name, in middle place or as a starting point for names such as Melinda or Linden. And in some European countries, Linda still ranks high on the popularity charts.

Pretty Girl Names

Midcentury Baby Names

Top 1940s Baby Names 

Top 1960s Baby Names 

Top 1950s Baby Names 

Cat Names

Chicken Names

Spanish Cat Names

Spanish Word Names

Spanish Dog Names

Italian Dog Names

Number One Baby Names

Amish Names

Most Common Names for Girls

TV Mom Names

Dog Names

Funny Dog Names

Traveling Lite Baby Names

Girl Names Always in the Top 1000

Names That Mean Beautiful

Fairy Tale Baby Names

Italian Word Names

Spanish

Italian

Portuguese

Nameberry

Germany

switzerland

Austria

Estonia

The name Linda is currently ranked #902 in U.S. births. and peaked for girls at #1 in 1950. The name is most popular in LINDA, LINDA, and LINDA. Linda is occasionally used for boys in 1994.

Belinda

Lynn

Melinda

Linda

Linda Rank in US Top 1000

The name Linda in Nameberry Blog Posts

The name Linda in Nameberry Forums

More Lists containing Linda

Advanced Search

Advanced Search

Find your type.

The Nameberry App Is Live

The Nameberry App Is Live