Lyndsey
From a Germanic name meaning "from the linden tree covered territory".
Name Census estimates that about 13,811 living Americans carry the first name Lyndsey. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lyndsey today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lyndsey births was 1990 (687 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lyndsey. 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
14K
~ 1 in 24,817 Americans
Peak year
1990
687 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2004 SSA rank
#7,791
Tracked since 1964
Gender
Gender distribution for Lyndsey
Out of the 14,406 babies given the name Lyndsey 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.
Lyndsey as a male name
- Ranked #12,491 in 2004
- 5 male births in 2004
- Peak: 1984 (6 births)
Lyndsey as a female name
- Ranked #7,791 in 2024
- 14 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1990 (687 births)
Popularity
Lyndsey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lyndsey from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 5,862 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lyndsey 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 Lyndsey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lyndseys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 48 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Lyndsey, while Wyoming, Vermont, Montana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 256 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lyndsey
The name Lyndsey is an English variant of the Scottish surname Lindsay, which is derived from the region of Linsay or Lindsey in Lincolnshire, England. The name itself can be traced back to the Old English words "lind" meaning "lime tree" and "ea" meaning "island" or "river."
The earliest recorded use of the name Lyndsey dates back to the late 19th century, when it began to gain popularity as a feminine given name. It was likely influenced by the increasing use of surnames as given names during this period.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Lyndsey was Lyndsey Savage, an American actress born in 1904. She appeared in several films during the 1920s and 1930s.
Another notable Lyndsey was Lyndsey Anderson (1923-1994), a British film director and writer. He is best known for his satirical films such as "O Lucky Man!" and "Britannia Hospital."
In literature, the name Lyndsey appears in the novel "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck, published in 1939. The character Lyndsey Jennings is a preacher who helps the Joad family on their journey.
In the world of sports, Lyndsey Fry (born 1985) is an American ice hockey player who has represented the United States in several Olympic Games, winning silver medals in 2010 and 2014.
Lyndsey Webster (born 1989) is a British singer and songwriter who rose to fame as a contestant on the TV talent show "The X Factor" in 2009. She has since released several successful albums and singles.
People
Lyndsey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lyndsey 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
Lyndsey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lyndsey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13,811 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lyndsey 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 24,817 US residents.
Is Lyndsey a common name?
We classify Lyndsey as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 14,406 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lyndsey most popular?
The single biggest year for Lyndsey was 1990, when 687 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lyndsey is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lyndsey a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Lyndsey 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.