Linda

Where the name comes from

• Germanic (view 1)
  Short form of women's names ending in -lind / -linda, whose element *linþaz means "gentle, sweet, mild" (DMNES).
  Proto-Germanic *linþaz, as in Theodelinda / Theodelinde (Gothic þiuda "people" + *linþaz)
  Origin uncertain. Names with the -lind(a) element are well attested from the 700s onward (e.g., Theodelindae 720, Theodlinda 799). That Linda began as a short form of such names is the usual explanation, though it is not settled.
• Spanish / Portuguese (view 2)
  Spanish linda, feminine of the adjective lindo. Wiktionary glosses it "beautiful" but cites no source for that gloss.
  Old Spanish lindo, "of uncertain origin, but probably from Latin legitimus". It originally meant "legitimate", later "authentic, pure, good". Sources: Corominas & Pascual; Real Academia Española DLE 2014, as cited by Wiktionary.
  The Spanish word linda, "pretty," is the popular meaning; it is a resemblance rather than the source.

Linda across traditions

• Early medieval Germanic (Lombard and Frankish). Theodelinda, a 6th–7th-century queen of the Lombards (about 1,400 years ago), carried the -linda element. She helped convert the Lombards from Arianism to orthodox (Catholic) Christianity. Names in -lind(is) appear in Frankish and Low Countries records from 720.
• Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world (including Latin America). Linda coincides with the everyday Spanish and Portuguese adjective linda, which makes the name instantly meaningful to Spanish and Portuguese speakers, whatever its origin. The singer Linda Ronstadt recorded the Spanish-language album Canciones de mi padre (1987).
• United States (SSA). 858,537 combined US births, 1950s–2010s. Peak decade: the 1950s, at #2 among girls (564,364). By decade: 1950s #2, 1960s #7, 1970s #68, 1980s #128; not in the top 200 from the 1990s on. Songwriter Jack Lawrence wrote the popular song "Linda" for Linda Eastman (later McCartney); the claim that the song drove the name's rise is a popular account not verified here.

Who carried it

• Theodelinda (Theodolinda) (6th–7th century (about 1,400 years ago)): Queen consort of the Lombards, married first to Authari and then to Agilulf. She helped bring the Lombards from Arianism to orthodox Christianity. Early bearer of the -linda element.
• Linda Ronstadt (Born July 15, 1946, Tucson, Arizona): American singer; her Spanish-language album Canciones de mi padre appeared in 1987.

Forms in other languages

Lynda, Lindy

Linda in letter-number systems

Hebrew, Greek and other traditions gave every letter a number, and read meaning into the totals. These are the counts, computed; the readings are inside the Innerverse.