Popularity of the name Linda, 1880–2025
Linda was at its most popular in 1948, when 96,220 girls were given the name: about 1 in 18 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #1. In 2025, 294 girls were named Linda, ranking #902. In all, Social Security counts 1,455,143 girls named Linda since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 3,756 boys named Linda.
- Peak year
- 1948
- Rank in 1948
- #1
- Babies in 1948
- 96,220
- Rank in 2025
- #902
- Total since 1880
- 1,455,143
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has slipped from #664 in 2015 to #902 in 2025, with 429 girls named Linda in 2015 and 294 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Linda ranked highest in the 1940s, at #2, with 531,660 girls given the name that decade. It ranked #277 in the 1880s and #835 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 27 in 1880 (#305), 125 in 1900 (#293), 348 in 1920 (#352), 18,370 in 1940 (#8), 37,316 in 1960 (#3), 2,806 in 1980 (#110), 851 in 2000 (#357) and 334 in 2020 (#814).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 99,692, in 1947. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more girls for 1947 than for 1948, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank in any year was #1, first reached in 1947.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls named Linda, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 27 | #305 |
| 1881 | 38 | #262 |
| 1882 | 36 | #294 |
| 1883 | 49 | #257 |
| 1884 | 33 | #341 |
| 1885 | 60 | #255 |
| 1886 | 49 | #294 |
| 1887 | 50 | #302 |
| 1888 | 77 | #262 |
| 1889 | 74 | #277 |
| 1890 | 54 | #348 |
| 1891 | 78 | #282 |
| 1892 | 83 | #296 |
| 1893 | 82 | #300 |
| 1894 | 94 | #285 |
| 1895 | 96 | #288 |
| 1896 | 104 | #287 |
| 1897 | 81 | #326 |
| 1898 | 102 | #311 |
| 1899 | 98 | #298 |
| 1900 | 125 | #293 |
| 1901 | 86 | #326 |
| 1902 | 91 | #324 |
| 1903 | 90 | #326 |
| 1904 | 101 | #323 |
| 1905 | 105 | #329 |
| 1906 | 98 | #337 |
| 1907 | 102 | #350 |
| 1908 | 93 | #372 |
| 1909 | 105 | #352 |
| 1910 | 137 | #335 |
| 1911 | 130 | #350 |
| 1912 | 189 | #329 |
| 1913 | 238 | #306 |
| 1914 | 219 | #358 |
| 1915 | 290 | #349 |
| 1916 | 297 | #356 |
| 1917 | 291 | #370 |
| 1918 | 322 | #359 |
| 1919 | 282 | #385 |
| 1920 | 348 | #352 |
| 1921 | 367 | #341 |
| 1922 | 365 | #339 |
| 1923 | 423 | #312 |
| 1924 | 454 | #314 |
| 1925 | 438 | #320 |
| 1926 | 480 | #305 |
| 1927 | 516 | #295 |
| 1928 | 555 | #277 |
| 1929 | 509 | #289 |
| 1930 | 492 | #299 |
| 1931 | 535 | #269 |
| 1932 | 774 | #219 |
| 1933 | 782 | #216 |
| 1934 | 1,000 | #182 |
| 1935 | 1,197 | #165 |
| 1936 | 2,440 | #97 |
| 1937 | 4,378 | #49 |
| 1938 | 7,047 | #31 |
| 1939 | 10,713 | #15 |
| 1940 | 18,370 | #8 |
| 1941 | 23,721 | #5 |
| 1942 | 31,613 | #4 |
| 1943 | 38,439 | #4 |
| 1944 | 38,415 | #3 |
| 1945 | 41,465 | #2 |
| 1946 | 52,710 | #2 |
| 1947 | 99,692 | #1 |
| 1948 | 96,220 | #1 |
| 1949 | 91,015 | #1 |
| 1950 | 80,433 | #1 |
| 1951 | 73,982 | #1 |
| 1952 | 67,082 | #1 |
| 1953 | 61,281 | #2 |
| 1954 | 55,371 | #2 |
| 1955 | 51,300 | #3 |
| 1956 | 48,084 | #3 |
| 1957 | 44,517 | #3 |
| 1958 | 41,904 | #3 |
| 1959 | 40,410 | #3 |
| 1960 | 37,316 | #3 |
| 1961 | 35,597 | #4 |
| 1962 | 31,461 | #5 |
| 1963 | 27,727 | #5 |
| 1964 | 23,629 | #8 |
| 1965 | 19,345 | #8 |
| 1966 | 15,566 | #18 |
| 1967 | 13,196 | #26 |
| 1968 | 11,371 | #28 |
| 1969 | 10,246 | #33 |
| 1970 | 8,731 | #38 |
| 1971 | 7,376 | #42 |
| 1972 | 5,742 | #51 |
| 1973 | 4,731 | #61 |
| 1974 | 4,077 | #75 |
| 1975 | 3,522 | #81 |
| 1976 | 3,138 | #90 |
| 1977 | 2,912 | #99 |
| 1978 | 2,932 | #100 |
| 1979 | 2,739 | #114 |
| 1980 | 2,806 | #110 |
| 1981 | 2,728 | #111 |
| 1982 | 2,791 | #107 |
| 1983 | 2,474 | #119 |
| 1984 | 2,336 | #119 |
| 1985 | 2,114 | #137 |
| 1986 | 1,950 | #148 |
| 1987 | 1,931 | #142 |
| 1988 | 1,845 | #155 |
| 1989 | 1,844 | #157 |
| 1990 | 1,661 | #175 |
| 1991 | 1,608 | #187 |
| 1992 | 1,582 | #191 |
| 1993 | 1,488 | #198 |
| 1994 | 1,284 | #221 |
| 1995 | 1,234 | #230 |
| 1996 | 987 | #293 |
| 1997 | 1,099 | #263 |
| 1998 | 972 | #312 |
| 1999 | 900 | #336 |
| 2000 | 851 | #357 |
| 2001 | 839 | #354 |
| 2002 | 773 | #382 |
| 2003 | 741 | #409 |
| 2004 | 731 | #417 |
| 2005 | 754 | #415 |
| 2006 | 700 | #451 |
| 2007 | 662 | #492 |
| 2008 | 614 | #507 |
| 2009 | 555 | #548 |
| 2010 | 480 | #614 |
| 2011 | 491 | #587 |
| 2012 | 450 | #633 |
| 2013 | 447 | #626 |
| 2014 | 475 | #612 |
| 2015 | 429 | #664 |
| 2016 | 444 | #658 |
| 2017 | 410 | #704 |
| 2018 | 398 | #717 |
| 2019 | 362 | #768 |
| 2020 | 334 | #814 |
| 2021 | 328 | #841 |
| 2022 | 352 | #800 |
| 2023 | 324 | #841 |
| 2024 | 324 | #836 |
| 2025 | 294 | #902 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.