Lindley
Masculine
Lindley is given to both — 628 boys and 1,000 girls since 1880. See Lindley as a girl 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 1895 — 130 years ago. The typical Lindley alive today was born around 1938, making them about 87 years old. About 200 people named Lindley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lindley most popular?
Lindley peaked in 1895, reaching #978 nationally. See the whole 1895 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
- 1895
- Most boys named
- 192017 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #978reached in 1895
- Change vs 1983
- 0.0%5 in 1989, from 5
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
Lindleys among us
people named Lindley 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
Lindley 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
- 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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Lindley
Masculine
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 200 people named Lindley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lindley in 2025?
- Lindley is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Lindley with classmates?
- Lindley will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More L names
The most-given names starting with L, all years combined.
Larry#1084 · Lawrence#518 · Louis#249 · Logan#53 · Liam#1 · Lucas#10 · Luke#33 · Leonard#637
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Lindley? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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