Girls' name · peaked in 1948
Linda name popularity since 1925
1,452,186 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Linda. Half of them were born in 1952 or earlier, so the typical Linda is about 74 years old in 2026. Linda peaked in 1948 as the #1 name for girls, and it ranked #902 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 1,452,186
- Named Linda, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #902
- for girls in 2025 (294 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 1,448,430 girls · 3,756 boys
- Most popular in
- West Virginia
- 1.60× its national share
Peak year is the year Linda made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Linda births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1947. Measured as a share of all babies, Linda peaked in 1948.
- Fastest rise: Between 1935 and 1940, Linda became 14× more common, from 1 in 876 baby girls to 1 in 62.
- Steepest fall: Between 1965 and 1970, its share of baby girls fell by 54%, from 1 in 91 to 1 in 200.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Linda's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Linda.
Decade by decade
Babies named Linda in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 2,498 | 13 | – |
| 1930s | 29,358 | 124 | #165 |
| 1940s | 531,660 | 1,329 | #2 |
| 1950s | 564,364 | 1,169 | #3 |
| 1960s | 225,454 | 684 | #8 |
| 1970s | 45,900 | 224 | #81 |
| 1980s | 22,819 | 162 | #137 |
| 1990s | 12,815 | 51 | #231 |
| 2000s | 7,220 | 0 | #415 |
| 2010s | 4,386 | 0 | #666 |
| 2020–25 | 1,956 | 0 | #902 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
73.1% of babies named Linda from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Linda is most popular
The index compares Linda's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Linda.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 1.60× | 20,656 |
| Vermont | 1.43× | 3,504 |
| Maine | 1.38× | 8,659 |
| Rhode Island | 1.37× | 7,129 |
| Arkansas | 1.35× | 20,313 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Linda and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Linda (this page) | 1,448,430 | 1948 |
| Lynda | 77,618 | 1947 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Linda's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Linda.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Linda (1948).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data