Lindley
Feminine
Lindley is given to both — 1,000 girls and 628 boys since 1880. See Lindley as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Lindley is an English place-name surname, 'the clearing by the lime trees', and it leans to girls in American use without settling there. Two Lindleys shaped how the English-speaking world writes and gardens.
How old is the name Lindley?
Lindley first appears in US birth records in 1943 — 82 years ago. The typical Lindley alive today was born around 2003, making them about 22 years old. About 1,000 people named Lindley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lindley most popular?
Lindley peaked in 1988, reaching #1491 nationally. Today it ranks #7885, 6,394 places below that high. See the whole 1988 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Lindley
Lindley Murray, a Pennsylvania-born Quaker lawyer who settled in England, published his English Grammar in 1795, and it became the standard schoolbook on both sides of the Atlantic for half a century, selling millions of copies. In 1838 the botanist John Lindley was asked to report on the royal gardens at Kew, then threatened with being broken up; his report recommended making Kew a national botanical garden, and it became one. As an American first name Lindley was given to both sexes in the twentieth century and has leaned toward girls.
Meaning
Clearing by the lime (linden) trees
From the Old English words for a lime tree and a woodland clearing, a place name in Yorkshire and elsewhere.
Pronouncing Lindley
LIND-lee
Two syllables with the stress on the first.
Nicknames for Lindley
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
- 1943
- Most girls named
- 198891 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1491reached in 1988
- Change vs 2024
- −13.3%13 in 2025, from 15
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.
Lindley in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Lindley in English — same name
- Linley in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas.
Lindleys among us
people named Lindley are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 123,636 born in 2025 was named Lindley
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Judee test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Lindley's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Judee climbed just as high around 1943, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Judee's path sketches the road Lindley is walking now.
Lindley 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
Lindley beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Lindley in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A real English place name with a clear meaning.
- Works for either child.
- Rare, so a Lindley is unlikely to share the name.
- People will hear Lindsey or Linley.
- It leans to girls but not decisively, so either child may be taken for the other on paper.
- As a surname-first name it will sometimes be taken for a last name.
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What they receive
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Lindley
Feminine · #7885 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Lindleys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Lindley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lindley in 2025?
- Lindley ranks #7885 among US girl names in 2025, with 13 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Lindley?
- About 1 in every 123,636 US girls born in 2025 was named Lindley — 13 in all.
- Will my child share the name Lindley with classmates?
- Lindley will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Lindley
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ola#7885 · Loula#7885 · Consuelo#7885 · Santa#7885 · Florentina#7885 · Marty#7885 · Jaye#7885 · Dollie#7885
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Lindley? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Lindley and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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