Lynn
About Lynn
Lynn arrived in the 1940s, spinning off from the wildly popular Linda to become a top mid-century middle (and first) name, ranking at #58 during its 1956 peak. Now, however, Lynn is out of the charts, more likely found stuck on to the end of another name (see Emberlynn and Gracelynn)
Derived from either the Welsh llyn meaning "lake", the Spanish linda meaning "pretty, beautiful", or the Germanic lind meaning "soft, tender, flexible", Lynn was used predominantly as a masculine name, right up until 1942 when it swung more feminine for the first time, chosen for 1749 girls compared to 1394 boys.
Still given to nearly 70 girls in a recent year, Lynn remains, quietly, on the radar at least.
As of October 2026, Lynn ranked #2558 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #58 in 1956, Nameberry popularity #662.
Editor's take: The name Lynn is a girl's name of English, Welsh origin meaning "pretty, soft, tender; lake".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #2,163 | 88 | 49.3 |
| 2015 | #2,251 | 84 | 47.1 |
| 2016 | #2,105 | 93 | 52.5 |
| 2017 | #2,137 | 90 | 52.1 |
| 2018 | #2,496 | 71 | 41.7 |
| 2019 | #2,004 | 96 | 57.2 |
| 2020 | #2,272 | 79 | 48.9 |
| 2021 | #2,574 | 68 | 41.4 |
| 2022 | #3,058 | 54 | 32.9 |
| 2023 | #3,206 | 51 | 31.8 |
| 2024 | #2,804 | 60 | 37 |
| 2025 | #2,558 | 69 | 42.9 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Lynn.
- Shannon
- Sherie
- Dana
- Leigh
- Aimee
- Shelby
- Lea
- Renee
- Leslie
- Jillian
- Hanna
- Casey
- Kirsten
- Lindsay
- Carolyn
- Josslyn
- Robyn
- Lilian
- Rickie
- Denise
Lynn on lists
Famous Lynns
- Lynn Rene Anderson
American country music singer
- Lynn Rachel Redgrave
English actress
- Lillie Louise "Lynn" Fontanne
British,American actress
- Lynn C. Woolsey
U.S. Congresswoman from California
- Lynn Marie Berry
American TV journalist
- Marilyn Lorraine "Lynn" Abbey
American novelist
- (Viola) Lynn Collins
American actress
- Lynn Whitfield
American actress
- Lynn Elizabeth Flewelling
American novelist
- Lynn Hilary
Irish singer,songwriter of Celtic Woman and Anuna
- Lynn Hamilton
American actress
- Jamie
Lynn Sigler, American actress
- Jamie Lynn Spears
American singer and actress
- Loretta Lynn
American country music singer
- Lynn Painter
American author
Lynn in pop culture
- Lynn
character in the "Divergent" trilogy
- Lynn Robillard
character on TV's "Criminal Minds"
- Lynn Holden
character in movie "The Wrong Guy"
- Lynn Loud
a character from the Nickelodeon cartoon "The Loud House"
- Lynn Valerie Lewis
daughter of Inspector Robert Lewis on TV's "Lewis"
- Lynn
Massachusetts, USA
- King's Lynn
a town in Norfolk, Britain
- Lynn Farmer
character in movie "Double, Double, Toil and Trouble"