Lynnette
A feminine name of French origin meaning "pretty, shining one".
Name Census estimates that about 11,950 living Americans carry the first name Lynnette. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lynnette today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lynnette births was 1964 (506 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lynnette. 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 Lynnette with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
12K
~ 1 in 28,682 Americans
Peak year
1964
506 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,719
Tracked since 1902
Census
Lynnette in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 12,705 people with the first name Lynnette, which placed it at #2,115 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
#2,115
National first-name rank
People counted
13K
12,705 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lynnette
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lynnette is White at 69.9%. The next largest groups are Black (14.4%) and Hispanic (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 Lynnette 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 Lynnette at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.9% · 8,883
- Black or African American14.4% · 1,827
- Hispanic or Latino9.3% · 1,184
- Two or more races3.2% · 402
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 277
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 132
Popularity
Lynnette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lynnette from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 4,711 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lynnette 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 Lynnette during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lynnettes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 43 states and territories. California, Illinois, New York recorded the most babies named Lynnette, while West Virginia, Nevada, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 272 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lynnette
Lynnette is a feminine given name derived from the Old German name Lindelind, which means "linden tree protector" or "tender linden." The linden tree was a sacred symbol in Germanic pagan tradition, valued for its beauty, strength, and medicinal properties. The name Lindelind emerged during the Middle Ages and was later anglicized to Lynnette.
The earliest recorded use of the name Lynnette can be traced back to the 12th century French poet Chrétien de Troyes, who featured a character named Lynnette in his famous Arthurian romance "Le Chevalier de la Charrette" (The Knight of the Cart). In this work, Lynnette is a damsel in distress who seeks the help of Sir Lancelot to defeat a powerful knight.
Another notable historical figure named Lynnette was Lynnette Merriman (1871-1949), an American illustrator and painter known for her exquisite book illustrations and portraits. Her work graced the pages of numerous publications, including Harper's Magazine and The Century Magazine.
In the realm of literature, Lynnette Hunter (1891-1968) was a British writer and novelist best known for her novels set in rural England, such as "The Whistling Valley" and "The Penny Ferry." Her works captured the essence of country life and the resilience of the human spirit.
Moving to the world of classical music, Lynnette Seah (born 1973) is a renowned Singaporean violinist and conductor. She has performed with various orchestras and has been recognized for her contributions to the promotion of classical music in Southeast Asia.
Finally, Lynnette Cole (1949-2021) was an accomplished American actress and singer. She gained recognition for her portrayal of Mary Magdalene in the Broadway production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" and her appearances in numerous television shows and films, including "Slaughter's Big Rip-Off" and "The Wonderful World of Disney."
People
Lynnette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lynnette 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
Lynnette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lynnette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11,950 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lynnette 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 28,682 US residents.
Is Lynnette a common name?
We classify Lynnette as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15,206 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lynnette most popular?
The single biggest year for Lynnette was 1964, when 506 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lynnette is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lynnette in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 12,705 people with the name Lynnette, or 4.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,115 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 Lynnette 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 Lynnette?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lynnette appears almost entirely female. Of the 12,708 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Lynnette?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lynnette is White at 69.9%. The next largest groups are Black (14.4%) and Hispanic (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 Lynnette most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lynnette in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.9% (8,883 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 Lynnette in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lynnette a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lynnette 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 Lynnette still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lynnette 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 Lynnette 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 Lynnette?
Want to know how many Americans are named Lynnette? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.