Erlinda
Feminine · “shield of linden wood”
Erlinda is a Germanic name that became thoroughly Spanish. The lind at its center is one of the busiest elements in the old Germanic naming stock, and it named the linden tree — specifically the shield made from its wood, which was light and did not split. It ends dozens of women's names across Europe.
How old is the name Erlinda?
Erlinda first appears in US birth records in 1900 — 125 years ago. The typical Erlinda alive today was born around 1950, making them about 75 years old. About 3,000 people named Erlinda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Erlinda most popular?
Erlinda peaked in 1949, reaching #632 nationally. See the whole 1949 chart.
Where it comes from
From Herlind to Erlinda
The story of Erlinda
The Visigoths ruled Spain for three centuries and left a layer of Germanic names underneath the Latin ones, which naturalized so completely that Elvira, Alvaro, Rodrigo and Erlinda now sound entirely Spanish. Herlinda and Erlinda are the same name with and without the h, and both appear across the Spanish-speaking world. The name reached American records with Mexican and Filipino immigration, which is why it turns up where those communities are rather than evenly.
Meaningscholars disagree
shield of linden wood
Germanic lind names the lime or linden tree and, by extension, the shield made from its timber; Old English poetry calls a shield a lind outright. It closes Belinda, Melinda, Rosalind, Gerlinde and Erlinda. The first element here is less certain — a word about honor or one about an army have both been proposed. The lind is documented and the front is not, which is the ordinary state of a worn-down compound.
How the name formed
- Herlind
- Herlinda
- Erlinda
Related forms: Herlinda · Gerlinde · Erlinda
Pronouncing Erlinda
er-LIN-duh
er-LIN-duh, three syllables, stress in the middle. Spanish gives the vowels fuller value, er-LEEN-dah, and rolls the r. The spelling is unambiguous in both languages.
Nicknames for Erlinda
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1900
- Most girls named
- 1950133 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #632reached in 1949
- Change vs 2021
- +25.0%10 in 2023, from 8
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Erlinda in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Herlinda in Spanish — spelling variant
- Gerlinde in German — related form
- Erlinda in Italian — same name
Erlindas among us
people named Erlinda are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Erlinda sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Linda sits inside it as a short form that works in English and Spanish alike.
- The Germanic element behind it is documented and its shield connection is concrete.
- Three syllables with a clear middle stress, which balances a short surname.
- Herlinda is the more common Spanish spelling and the h gets asked about.
- The first element's meaning is not settled, so any translation comes with a hedge.
- It belongs firmly to an earlier American period and has not returned.
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Erlinda
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Erlindas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,000 people named Erlinda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Erlinda in 2025?
- Erlinda is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Erlinda with classmates?
- Erlinda will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More E names
The most-given names starting with E, all years combined.
Elizabeth#17 · Emily#34 · Emma#3 · Evelyn#8 · Ella#29 · Eleanor#12 · Erin#833 · Edna#2458
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Erlinda? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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