Lydiah
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "woman of Lydia".
Name Census estimates that about 304 living Americans carry the first name Lydiah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lydiah today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lydiah births was 2013 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lydiah. 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
304
~ 1 in 1,127,481 Americans
Peak year
2013
25 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,036
Tracked since 1992
Popularity
Lydiah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lydiah from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 174 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lydiah 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 Lydiah 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 Lydiah
The name Lydiah is believed to have its origins in ancient Greece, derived from the Greek word "Lydia," which referred to the region of western Anatolia in modern-day Turkey. The region was known for its wealth and prosperity, particularly due to its rich deposits of gold and other precious metals.
In Greek mythology, Lydia was the name of a mythical king who ruled over the region and was credited with the invention of coinage. The name Lydiah is thought to have emerged as a feminine variation of this name, possibly as a way to honor the region's cultural and economic significance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lydiah can be found in the Bible's Book of Acts, where it is mentioned as the name of a woman from the city of Thyatira, who was a seller of purple cloth. This reference dates back to the 1st century AD and suggests that the name was in use during the early Christian era.
Throughout history, the name Lydiah has been borne by several notable individuals, including Lydiah Davenport (1689-1776), an American midwife who practiced in Massachusetts and delivered over 3,000 babies during her career. Another notable figure was Lydiah Becker (1856-1942), an American educator and suffragist who played a significant role in the women's suffrage movement in the United States.
In the realm of literature, Lydiah is also the name of a character in the novel "The Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys, published in 1966. The character is a former slave who serves as a servant in the novel's narrative.
Other historical figures who bore the name Lydiah include Lydiah Hayden (1804-1868), an American author and educator who wrote several books on education and moral philosophy, and Lydiah Huntley Sigourney (1791-1865), an American poet and educator who was widely celebrated during her lifetime for her literary works.
While the name Lydiah has its roots in ancient Greece and has been borne by notable individuals throughout history, it has remained relatively uncommon in modern times, particularly in comparison to other names derived from the same linguistic and cultural origins.
People
Lydiah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lydiah 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
Lydiah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lydiah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 304 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lydiah 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 1,127,481 US residents.
Is Lydiah a common name?
We classify Lydiah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 307 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lydiah most popular?
The single biggest year for Lydiah was 2013, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lydiah is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lydiah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lydiah 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.
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.