Linne
A feminine name of Scandinavian origin meaning "twinberry" or "linden tree".
Name Census estimates that about 23 living Americans carry the first name Linne. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Linne today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Linne births was 1959 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Linne. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Linne. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
23
~ 1 in 14,902,363 Americans
Peak year
1959
8 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
1964 SSA rank
#6,431
Tracked since 1958
Census
Linne in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 183 people with the first name Linne, which placed it at #40,598 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#40,598
National first-name rank
People counted
183
183 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Linne
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Linne is White at 70.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.8%) and Black (9.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Linne described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Linne at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.5% · 129
- Hispanic or Latino9.8% · 18
- Black or African American9.3% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.7% · 14
- Two or more races2.7% · 5
Popularity
Linne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Linne from the 1950s through to the 1960s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 16 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Linne by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Linne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Linne
The name Linne is a variation of the name Linn, which has its origins in the Old English language. It is derived from the Old English word "lind," meaning a lime tree or linden tree. The name was likely given to children born near a linden tree or in areas where these trees were abundant.
In the early medieval period, the name Linne was commonly found in Anglo-Saxon England, particularly in regions where linden trees were prevalent, such as the southern and central parts of the country. The linden tree held significance in Germanic and Celtic cultures, often associated with fertility, love, and protection.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Linne can be found in the Domesday Book, a survey of land and property commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as a personal name and a place name, indicating its widespread use at the time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Linne. One of the most famous was Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), a Swedish botanist and zoologist who laid the foundations for the modern system of binomial nomenclature used for naming living organisms. He is often referred to as the "father of modern taxonomy."
Another notable figure was Linn Boyd (1800-1859), an American politician and lawyer who served as the 14th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky from 1835 to 1839. He was also a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Kentucky's 3rd congressional district from 1835 to 1837.
In the literary world, Linn Underhill (1904-1949) was an American writer and editor known for her contributions to The New Yorker magazine. She was born in New York City and worked as an editor for the magazine from 1927 until her death.
Linn W. Houseman (1891-1975) was an American artist and illustrator best known for his contributions to the Western genre. He illustrated numerous books and magazines, capturing the essence of life in the American West.
Finally, Linn Cartwright (1958-), born in New Zealand, is a noted author and illustrator of children's books. Some of her popular works include "The Biscuit Maker," "The Gardener," and "The Painter."
People
Linne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Linne as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Linne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Linne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 23 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Linne going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 14,902,363 US residents.
Is Linne a common name?
We classify Linne as "Very Rare". It ranks above 42.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 29 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Linne most popular?
The single biggest year for Linne was 1959, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Linne is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Linne in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 183 people with the name Linne, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,598 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Linne in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Linne?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Linne leans strongly female. 160 people counted with this name were female (88.4%), compared with 21 male bearers (11.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Linne?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Linne is White at 70.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.8%) and Black (9.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Linne most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Linne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.5% (129 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Linne in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Linne a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Linne in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Linne still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Linne in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Linne can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Linne?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.