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

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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.

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".

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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.

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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

Year	US rank	Births	Per million
2014	—	0	0
2015	—	0	0
2016	—	0	0
2017	—	0	0
2018	—	0	0
2019	—	0	0
2020	—	0	0
2021	—	0	0
2022	—	0	0
2023	—	0	0
2024	—	0	0
2025	—	0	0

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