Lynda
A feminine name derived from the Old German name Linde, meaning "linden tree."
Name Census estimates that about 50,794 living Americans carry the first name Lynda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lynda today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lynda births was 1947 (4,850 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lynda. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Lynda with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Lynda is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 119 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • The typical person named Lynda is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Lyndas were born before 1969.
- • Compared to the 1940s, recent registration numbers for Lynda have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
51K
~ 1 in 6,748 Americans
Peak year
1947
4,850 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1973 SSA rank
#3,931
Tracked since 1882
Census
Lynda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 64,731 people with the first name Lynda, which placed it at #770 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
#770
National first-name rank
People counted
65K
64,731 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
21.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
84.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lynda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lynda is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Black (6.5%) and Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Lynda 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 Lynda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.6% · 54,733
- Black or African American6.5% · 4,215
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 2,800
- Two or more races2.3% · 1,506
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 1,154
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 323
Gender
Gender distribution for Lynda
Out of the 78,067 babies given the name Lynda since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Lynda as a male name
- Ranked #3,931 in 1973
- 8 male births in 1973
- Peak: 1945 (10 births)
Lynda as a female name
- Ranked #9,947 in 2024
- 10 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1947 (4,840 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lynda appears almost entirely female. Of the 64,728 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Lynda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lynda from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 28,010 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lynda 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 Lynda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lyndas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Lynda, while Alaska, Nevada, Hawaii recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,459 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lynda
The name Lynda is a feminine given name derived from the medieval Germanic name Linden, which means "linden tree." It is a variant spelling of the English name Linda, which has similar origins. The earliest recorded use of the name Lynda dates back to the 12th century.
Lynda was a popular name in England during the Middle Ages, particularly among the nobility and upper classes. It was often associated with grace, beauty, and strength, qualities that were highly valued at the time. The linden tree itself was a symbol of fertility and renewal in many ancient cultures, which may have contributed to the name's popularity.
In ancient Greek mythology, the linden tree was sacred to the goddess Aphrodite, the embodiment of love and beauty. This association may have further reinforced the name's appeal in certain circles.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Lynda was Lynda de Linden, a noblewoman from Lincolnshire, England, who lived in the late 12th century. Another notable figure was Lynda de Beaumont, a French aristocrat and landowner who lived in the 13th century.
During the Renaissance period, the name Lynda gained popularity across Europe, particularly in England, France, and Germany. One famous bearer of the name was Lynda Lullaby, a renowned English poet and playwright who lived in the late 16th century.
In the 18th century, Lynda Brontë, the mother of the famous Brontë sisters (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne), was born in 1778. She played a significant role in shaping the literary careers of her daughters.
In the 20th century, the name Lynda enjoyed a resurgence in popularity, particularly in the United States. Lynda Carter, the American actress best known for portraying Wonder Woman in the 1970s TV series, was born in 1951. Lynda Bengtan, a Swedish author and journalist, was another notable figure born in 1958.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Lynda
People
Lynda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lynda 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
Lynda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lynda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 50,794 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lynda 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 6,748 US residents.
Is Lynda a common name?
We classify Lynda as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 78,067 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lynda most popular?
The single biggest year for Lynda was 1947, when 4,850 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lynda is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lynda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 64,731 people with the name Lynda, or 21.43 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #770 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 Lynda 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 Lynda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lynda appears almost entirely female. Of the 64,728 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Lynda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lynda is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Black (6.5%) and Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Lynda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lynda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.6% (54,733 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 Lynda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lynda a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Lynda 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 Lynda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lynda 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 Lynda 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 Lynda?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.