Linus
About Linus
Can Linus lose its metaphorical security blanket and move from the Peanuts page onto the birth certificate? We think it has enough charm and other positive elements going for it for the answer to be yes.
In Greek myth, Linus is both a musician and poet, the inventor of rhythm and melody who taught music to Hercules. In the Christian era, Linus was the name of the second pope, Saint Peter's successor, while in modern times chemist Linus Pauling was awarded the Nobel Prize twice.
Humphrey Bogart as Linus Larrabee won the heart of Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina, and Matt Damon played Linus Caldwell in three of the Oceans movies. There's also Linus Baker, one of the central character's in T.J. Klune's popular novel, The House in the Cerulean Sea.
Linus is currently in or around the Top 50 in Germany, Sweden and Norway, and is one of the most popular boys' names on Nameberry. In the US, it was given to around 130 boys in a recent year, making it an underused, but not totally out there choice.
As with many names, the pronunciation varies, depending on language and location. Among English speakers, the first syllable is said to rhyme with eye or pie, making it LYE-nuhs. In Swedish and German, it would be more like LEE-noos, the oo sound short, like that in took or shook, while in its traditional Greek, it would be LEE-NOS.
International forms include the French, Russian, Bulgarian, and Ukrainian Lin (LEHn, the Lithuanian Linas and the Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese Lino (LEE-no).
As of October 2026, Linus ranked #1913 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #625 in 1882, Nameberry popularity #326.
Editor's take: The name Linus is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "flax".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,160 | 163 | 84.9 |
| 2015 | #1,155 | 163 | 85 |
| 2016 | #1,363 | 131 | 69 |
| 2017 | #1,147 | 166 | 89.7 |
| 2018 | #1,259 | 147 | 80.9 |
| 2019 | #1,520 | 112 | 62.4 |
| 2020 | #1,404 | 124 | 71.8 |
| 2021 | #1,550 | 113 | 64.6 |
| 2022 | #1,441 | 126 | 72.2 |
| 2023 | #1,541 | 114 | 66.6 |
| 2024 | #1,425 | 129 | 74.9 |
| 2025 | #1,913 | 82 | 48 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Linus.
Famous Linuss
- Linus
second Pope
- Linus Yale
Sr. (1797,1858), American inventor; manufacturer of locks
- Linus Yale
Jr. (1821,1868), American mechanical engineer
- Linus William Roache (born 1964)
English actor
- Linus Torvalds (born 1969)
Finnish,American software engineer
- Linus Pauling (1901
1994), American chemist and peace activist
- Linus of Liege aka Francis Line
Jesuit priest and scientist
- Linus Reinhard "Lonny" Frey
American baseball player America nbaseball player
- Linus Gerdemann
German professional road bicycle racer
- J. Linus McAtee
American Hall of Fame jockey
- Linus Thornblad
Swedish high jumper
- Linus Sebastian
Canadian YouTube star
- Linus Maurer
real life California cartoonist, whose served as the inspiration for the name of
- Linus Ullmark (born Sven Linus Ullmark)
Swedish Ice Hockey Player
Linus in pop culture
- Linus Larrabee
character in film "Sabrina"
- Linus Van Pelt
character in the "Peanuts" comic strip and films
- Linus
character in film "Sharkboy And Lavagirl"
- Linus Caldwell
character in the Ocean's 11 films
- Linus
son of Apollo in Greek mythology
- Linus Rawlings
character in film "How the West Was Won"
- Ben Linus
character on TV's "Lost"
- Linus
indie/riot grrrl band
- Linus
Italian magazine published since 1965
- Linus
one of the lost operas by Jean,Philippe Rameau
- Linus Pauling Quartet
Houston psychedelic rock band
- Linus' law
named for Linus Torvalds, states that "given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow"
- Linus
character in the video game "Stardew Valley"
- Linus
extraterrestrial character, male Saurian Starfleet Officer on the USS Discovery on
- TV series Star Trek: Discovery
played by David Benjamin Tomlinson