Lynsay
An English feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from an Irish surname.
Name Census estimates that about 290 living Americans carry the first name Lynsay. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lynsay today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lynsay births was 1982 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lynsay. 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
290
~ 1 in 1,181,912 Americans
Peak year
1982
24 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2006 SSA rank
#16,320
Tracked since 1976
Popularity
Lynsay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lynsay from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 178 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
Lynsay 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 Lynsay 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 Lynsay
The name Lynsay is a variant spelling of the Scottish name Lindsay, which has its origins in the English place name Lindsaye, derived from the Old English words "lind" meaning "lime tree" and "ey" meaning "island". The name was likely coined to refer to a small island covered with lime trees.
The earliest recorded use of the name Lindsay dates back to the 12th century, when it was used as a surname for people who hailed from the lands of Lindsaye in England. Over time, the name evolved into a given name, particularly in Scotland and England.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Sir David de Lindsay, a Scottish knight who lived in the late 13th century and was known for his military exploits. Another notable figure was Sir David Lindsay of the Mount (1490-1555), a Scottish Renaissance poet and courtier during the reigns of James IV and James V of Scotland.
In the literary realm, the name gained prominence through the works of Sir Walter Scott, the famous Scottish novelist and poet of the 19th century. One of his characters, Lady Rowena Lindsay, appears in the novel "Ivanhoe" and is portrayed as a beautiful and virtuous Saxon noblewoman.
A few other notable historical figures with the name Lynsay or its variants include:
1. Lynsay Faye (born 1957), an American author known for her historical mystery novels set in late 19th century New York City.
2. Lyndsey Rodrigues (born 1991), a Canadian soccer player who has represented Canada in international competitions.
3. Lindsay Wagner (born 1949), an American actress best known for her role as Jaime Sommers in the 1970s television series "The Bionic Woman".
4. Lindsay Lohan (born 1986), an American actress, singer, and entrepreneur who rose to fame as a child star in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
5. Lindsay Davenport (born 1976), a former professional tennis player from the United States who won multiple Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal.
While the name Lynsay has its roots in medieval England and Scotland, it has since been embraced and popularized across various cultures and regions, particularly in the English-speaking world.
People
Lynsay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lynsay 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
Lynsay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lynsay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 290 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lynsay 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 1,181,912 US residents.
Is Lynsay a common name?
We classify Lynsay as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.8% 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 Lynsay most popular?
The single biggest year for Lynsay was 1982, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lynsay is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lynsay a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lynsay 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.