Linden
Feminine · “lime tree”
Linden is given to both — 1,998 girls and 4,102 boys since 1880. See Linden as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Linden is the lime tree, and its wood made the shields of Germanic Europe — which is why 'lind' means shield in old names.
How old is the name Linden?
Linden first appears in US birth records in 1945 — 80 years ago. The typical Linden alive today was born around 2012, making them about 13 years old. About 1,900 people named Linden are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Linden most popular?
Linden peaked in 2022, reaching #2123 nationally. Today it ranks #2256, 133 places below that high. See the whole 2022 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From lind to Linden
The story of Linden
Lime wood is light and does not split, which made it the standard shield material, and the word for the tree became the word for the shield in the naming stock — the lind in Rosalind and Gerlinde. Unter den Linden in Berlin is a lime avenue. Linden appears in American records for both sexes in current use.
Meaning
lime tree
From the Old English lind, 'lime tree', whose light tough wood was used for shields; the word came to mean the shield itself in Germanic compounds like Rosalind. The German Linde and Dutch linde are cognate. The etymology is documented.
How the name formed
- lind
- linden
- Linden
Related forms: Linde · Lyndon · Linden
Pronouncing Linden
LIN-dun
Two syllables, stress on the first. German Linde is LIN-duh.
Nicknames for Linden
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
- 1945
- Most girls named
- 202290 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2123reached in 2022
- Change vs 2024
- +15.7%81 in 2025, from 70
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.
Linden in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Linde in German — related form
- Lyndon in English — related form
- Linden in Dutch — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Michigan, Colorado.
Lindens among us
people named Linden are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 19,843 born in 2025 was named Linden
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Linden
- #2256
- Linden on the 2025 chart
- #844
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Linden went to 81 girls in 2025, but Lynden is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 116, which makes it the 844th most-given girls’ name of the year — 1,412 places above the chart.
- Linden81
- Lynden35
About 1 girl in 13,856 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 19,843 for Linden itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Kalen test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Linden's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Kalen climbed just as high around 1994, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Kalen's path sketches the road Linden is walking now.
Linden sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Linden is headed
Linden should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Linden beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Linden in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That the tree's name became the word for a shield is a first-rate etymology.
- Lin is available as a short form with real use.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- It reads as masculine and as a surname to many.
- Lyndon and Linden are close enough to confuse.
- It is used for both sexes in America.
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What they receive
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Linden
Feminine · #2256 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Lindens are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,900 people named Linden are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Linden?
- Linden is the most-used spelling in US records — 81 of the 116 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Lynden.
- How popular is the name Linden in 2025?
- Linden ranks #2256 among US girl names in 2025, with 81 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Linden?
- About 1 in every 19,843 US girls born in 2025 was named Linden — 81 in all.
- Will my child share the name Linden with classmates?
- Linden will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Linden
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jensen#2256 · Leonor#2256 · Alita#2256 · Lillyana#2256 · Miabella#2256 · Daylin#2256 · Toni#2256 · Flor#2256
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Linden? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Linden and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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