Linwood
From the combination of the English elements "lind" (lime tree) and "wudu" (wood).
Name Census estimates that about 6,315 living Americans carry the first name Linwood. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Linwood today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Linwood births was 1948 (276 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Linwood. 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.
People living today
6.3K
~ 1 in 54,276 Americans
Peak year
1948
276 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,940
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Linwood
Out of the 12,781 babies given the name Linwood since 1880, 100.0% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Linwood as a male name
- Ranked #7,064 in 2024
- 12 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1948 (276 births)
Linwood as a female name
- Ranked #4,940 in 1930
- 5 female births in 1930
- Peak: 1930 (5 births)
Popularity
Linwood: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Linwood from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 2,316 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Linwood 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 Linwood during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Linwoods live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. North Carolina, Virginia, Maine recorded the most babies named Linwood, while Tennessee, Delaware, New Hampshire recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 509 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Linwood
Linwood is an English name with origins dating back to the early medieval period. It is a combination of two Old English words, "lind" meaning "lime tree" and "wudu" meaning "wood." The name essentially refers to a lime tree grove or a wooded area dominated by lime trees.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Linwood appear in various English records and documents from the 11th and 12th centuries, often used as a place name or a surname. One of the earliest known individuals with the given name Linwood was Linwood de Lyndewode, a 14th-century English canon lawyer and Bishop of St. David's in Wales, who lived from around 1350 to 1424.
Another notable bearer of the name was Sir Linwood Holliday, an English military officer and politician who served as Governor of St. Christopher (now St. Kitts) in the West Indies from 1693 to 1700. He played a significant role in the defense of the island against French attacks during the War of the Grand Alliance.
In the realm of literature, Linwood Barclay is a contemporary Canadian novelist and author of several bestselling thrillers. Born in 1955, he is known for works such as "No Time for Goodbye," "Fear the Worst," and "Broken Promise."
The name Linwood also has a connection to the American Civil War. Linwood Omans was a Union Army soldier who served in the 10th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment during the conflict. He fought in several major battles, including the Battle of Shiloh in 1862, where he was wounded.
In the world of sports, Linwood Ferguson was a professional basketball player from the United States. Born in 1936, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Detroit Pistons and the St. Louis Hawks in the 1960s.
While the name Linwood has its roots in Old English, it has maintained a modest level of popularity over the centuries, particularly in English-speaking countries. It remains a unique and distinctive name with a rich historical background.
People
Linwood + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Linwood 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
Linwood: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Linwood?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,315 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Linwood 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 54,276 US residents.
Is Linwood a common name?
We classify Linwood as "Rare". It ranks above 97% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12,781 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Linwood most popular?
The single biggest year for Linwood was 1948, when 276 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Linwood is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Linwood a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Linwood in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.