Linda is a female
given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a ...
, of German origin, but widespread in the English-speaking world since the end of the nineteenth century.
The German name ''Linde'' was originally an abbreviated form of older names such as ''Dietlinde'' and ''Sieglinde''.
In the form ''Linda'' it was used by the writer
Jean Paul
Jean Paul (; born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, 21 March 1763 – 14 November 1825) was a German Romantic writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories.
Life and work
Jean Paul was born at Wunsiedel, in the Fichtelgebirge mountain ...
for a leading character in his four-volume novel ''
Titan'', published 1800–1803, and it became popular in German-speaking countries thereafter.
[
The name-element ''Linde'' is possibly derived from the same root as the linden tree, with reference to a shield made of that wood,][ but may have become associated with Germanic ''lind'' meaning "soft, tender", the image of the tree being used to indicate a gentle personality. Subsequent support for its appeal may have come from the neo-Latin language (Italian, Spanish or Portuguese) word ''linda'', which is the feminine form of ''lindo'', meaning "beautiful, pretty, cute" (Spanish and Portuguese) and "clean" (Italian). It is also a common name in South Africa, Linda, meaning "Wait" (IsiZulu and IsiXhosa).
Among other names in use in English-speaking countries that include the -linda suffix are ]Melinda
Melinda is a feminine given name.
Etymology
The modern name ''Melinda'' is a combination of "Mel" with the suffix "-inda". "Mel" can be derived from names such as Melanie meaning "dark, black" in Greek, or from Melissa (μέλισσα) meaning ...
, Belinda
Belinda is a feminine given name of unknown origin, apparently coined from Italian ''bella'', meaning "beautiful". Alternatively it may be derived from the Old High German name ''Betlinde'', which possibly meant "bright serpent" or "bright linde ...
, Celinda, and Rosalinda.
The name day
In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, among other parts of Christendom. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively that of a ...
s for Linda are on February 13 (Hungary, Poland), April 15 (Finland/Germany), June 19 (Switzerland), June 20 (Sweden), June 25 (Estonia), August 21 (Latvia), September 1 (Czech Republic), September 2 (Slovakia), and September 4 (Poland).
In the Albanian version, ''Linda'' is a feminine name which means "birth" or "fertility". The masculine form is ''Lind''.Lindo Lindo is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Abigail Lindo (1803–1848), British lexicographer
* Allan Lindo, more commonly known as apl.de.ap (born 1974), Filipino-American musician
* Dean Lindo (born 1932), Belizean attorney
* ...
are related South African-American names.
Notable people
* Linda Barker
Linda Barker (born 26 October 1961) is an English interior designer and television presenter.
Education
Born in Shelf, on the outskirts of Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire, Barker was educated at Bradford Girls' Grammar School before ...
, British television presenter and interior designer
* Linda L. M. Bennett, American political scientist
* Linda Blair
Linda Denise Blair (born January 22, 1959) is an American actress and activist. She played Regan MacNeil in the horror film ''The Exorcist'' (1973), for which she won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for an Academy Award. The fil ...
, American actress
* Linda Bolder
Linda Bolder (Hebrew: לינדה בולדר, born 3 July 1988 in Velserbroek, Netherlands) is a Dutch-born Israeli Olympic judoka.
A three-time European age-group judo champion as a junior, two-time Dutch senior women's champion, and silver m ...
, Israeli-Dutch Olympic judoka
* Linda Bove
Linda Bove Waterstreet (born November 30, 1945) is an American actress who performed as (a fictionalized version of) herself in the PBS children's series ''Sesame Street'' from 1971 to 2002. Bove was the first deaf actress to be part of the pro ...
, American actress
* Linda Brasil (born 1973), Brazilian politician
* Linda Burney
Linda Jean Burney (born 25 April 1957) is an Australian politician and is an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing Barton since the 2016 federal election. She is Minister for Indigenous Australi ...
(born 1957), Australian politician
* Linda Carter Brinson
Linda Sue Carter Brinson (born June 25, 1948) is an American writer, journalist, and editor. She was the first woman assistant national editor at ''The Baltimore Sun'' and the first woman editorial page editor at the ''Winston-Salem Journal''.
...
, American journalist and writer
* Linda Lee Cadwell, American teacher, widow of martial artist Bruce Lee
* Linda Cardellini, American actress
* Linda Carter (disambiguation), several people
* Linda Chung
Linda Chung Ka-yan (; born on 9 April 1984) is a Chinese-Canadian actress, singer and songwriter. She signed a long-term contract with TVB in 2004 after winning the Miss Chinese International. Chung was always Non-official Best Actress during ...
, Chinese-Canadian actress
* Linda Clement, Scottish field hockey player
* Linda Coffee
Linda Nellene Coffee (born December 25, 1942) : profile of Coffee is an American lawyer living in Dallas, Texas. Coffee is best known, along with Sarah Weddington, for arguing the precedent-setting United States Supreme Court case '' Roe v. Wade ...
, American lawyer, known for representing Jane Roe in ''Roe v. Wade''
* Linda Consolante, Canadian football (soccer) defender
* Linda Cristal
Marta Victoria Moya Peggo Burges (23 February 1931 – 27 June 2020), known professionally as Linda Cristal (), was an Argentinian actress. She appeared in a number of Western films during the 1950s, before winning a Golden Globe Award for her ...
, Argentinian actress
* Linda Dano
Linda Dano (born Linda Rae Wildermuth) is an American actress. She is well-known for her roles in daytime drama, in particular Rae Cummings on ''One Life to Live'' and Felicia Gallant on '' Another World''. Dano was nominated for a Daytime Emmy ...
, American actress, businesswoman, writer
* Linda Darnell
Linda Darnell (born Monetta Eloyse Darnell; October 16, 1923 – April 10, 1965) was an American actress. Darnell progressed from modeling as a child to acting in theater and film. At the encouragement of her mother, she made her first film in ...
, American actress
* Linda de Mol, Dutch entertainer
* Linda Dunikoski, American lawyer and prosecutor
* Linda Eder
Linda Eder (; born February 3, 1961) is an American singer and actress. She made her Broadway debut in the musical '' Jekyll & Hyde'', originating the role of Lucy Harris, for which she was nominated for the Drama Desk Award. Eder has performe ...
, American Broadway singer and actress
* Linda Evans
Linda Evans (born Linda Evenstad; November 18, 1942) is an American actress known primarily for her roles on television. In the 1960s she played Audra Barkley, the daughter of Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck) in the Western tel ...
, American actress
* Linda Evangelista, Canadian supermodel
* Linda Fairstein
Linda Fairstein (born May 5, 1947) is an American author, attorney, and former New York City prosecutor focusing on crimes of violence against women and children. She was the head of the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's offi ...
(born 1947), American author and former prosecutor
* Linda Fiorentino
Clorinda "Linda" Fiorentino (born March 9, 1958 or 1960) is an American former actress. Fiorentino made her screen debut with a leading role in the 1985 coming-of-age drama film ''Vision Quest'', followed that same year with a lead role in the ac ...
, Italian-American actress
* Linda Grant
Linda Grant (born 15 February 1951) is an English novelist and journalist.
Early life
Linda Grant was born in Liverpool. She was the oldest child of Benny Ginsberg, a businessman who made and sold hairdressing products, and Rose Haft; both p ...
(born 1951), British writer
* Linda Grant DePauw
Linda Grant DePauw (born January 19, 1940) is an American modern historian, retired university teacher, non-fiction author and journal editor, who is a pioneer in women's research in the United States. She received the Beveridge Award in 1964, wa ...
(born 1940), American historian and author
* Linda Gray
Linda Ann Gray (born September 12, 1940) is an American film, stage and television actress, director, producer and former model, best known for her role as Sue Ellen Ewing, the long-suffering wife of Larry Hagman's character J.R. Ewing on the CB ...
, American actress
* Linda Haglund, Swedish short-distance runner
* Linda M. Haines (born 1944), English/ South African statistician
* Linda Halimi, Albanian singer and songwriter
* Linda Hamilton
Linda Carroll Hamilton (born September 26, 1956) is an American actress. She played Sarah Connor in the '' Terminator'' film series and Catherine Chandler in the television series ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1987–1990), for which she was nomina ...
, American actress
* Linda Hargreaves, British actress
* Linda Henry
Linda Varilis (''née'' Henry; born 24 August 1959) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Yvonne Atkins in the ITV drama '' Bad Girls'' and Shirley Carter in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', a role she has played since 200 ...
(born 1963), British actress
* Linda Hesse (born 1987), German singer
* Linda Hogan (ethicist)
Linda F. Hogan (born 1964) is an Irish ethicist, ecumenist and academic, specialising in Christian ethics, political ethics, human rights, gender, and ecumenism. She is Professor of Ecumenics at Trinity College Dublin, where she was also its vic ...
(born 1964), Irish ethicist, theologian and academic
* Linda Hogan (writer) (born 1947), Native American writer and environmentalist
* Linda Hogan (TV personality)
Linda Marie Claridge (born August 24, 1959), also known as Linda Hogan, is an American television personality who is the ex-wife of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan. She is best known for her role on the American reality television show ''Hogan ...
, American television personality, ex-wife of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan
* Linda Hunt
Lydia Susanna "Linda" Hunt (born April 2, 1945) is an American actress of stage and screen.
She made her film debut playing Mrs. Oxheart in ''Popeye'' (1980). Hunt portrayed the male character Billy Kwan in '' The Year of Living Dangerously'' ...
(born 1945), American actress
* Linda Knowles, British high jumper
* Linda Lampenius, Finnish violinist
* Linda Lanzillotta (born 1948), Italian politician
* Linda Larkin
Linda Larkin (born March 20, 1970) is an American actress, best known for her role as the speaking voice of Princess Jasmine in Disney's 1992 animated feature film ''Aladdin''.
Career
Larkin began her career in 1990, with the film ''Zapped Agai ...
, American actress
* Linda Lavin
Linda Lavin (born October 15, 1937) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing the title character in the sitcom ''Alice'' and for her stage performances, both on and off-Broadway.
After acting as a child, Lavin joined the C ...
, American actress
* Linda Lawton, British researcher in cyanobacteria
* Linda Liao
Linda Liao (, now known as 廖語晴; born 24 May 1981) is a Taiwanese singer, actress, VJ and professional gamer. She attended Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario
Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-ea ...
, Taiwanese celebrity
* Linda Lingle
Linda Lingle (''née'' Cutter; June 4, 1953) is an American politician, who was the sixth governor of Hawaii from 2002 until 2010. She was the first Republican governor of Hawaii since 1962. Lingle was also the state's first female and first J ...
, governor of Hawaii
* Linda Lovelace, American former pornographic actress, later anti-pornography activist
* Linda Lucero, American artist
* Linda Lusardi
Linda Frances Elide Lusardi (born 18 September 1958) is an English actress, television presenter and former glamour model.
Career Modelling
Lusardi was born in Wood Green, London to Lilian (née Glassman, b. 1933) and Nello Lusardi (1930–2017 ...
(born 1958), British actress, television presenter
* Linda Mazri (born 2001), Algerian badminton player
* Linda McCartney (1941–1998), American photographer, first wife of Paul McCartney
* Linda McMahon
Linda Marie McMahon (née Edwards; October 4, 1948) is an American political executive, retired professional wrestler, executive, and performer. She served as the 25th administrator of the Small Business Administration from 2017 to 2019.
McMahon ...
, American professional wrestling executive and politician
* Linda Ohama, Canadian artist and filmmaker
* Linda Ojastu (1936–2006), Estonian sprinter, hurdler and coach
* Linda Olofsson, Swedish freestyle swimmer
* Linda Papadopoulos, English-Greek psychologist
* Linda Pearson (born 1964), Scottish sport shooter
* Linda Perry
Linda Perry (born April 15, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. She was the lead singer and primary songwriter of 4 Non Blondes, and has since founded two record labels and composed and produced hit songs for ...
, American singer-songwriter
* Linda Pétursdóttir
Linda Pétursdóttir (born 27 December 1969 in Húsavík) is an Icelandic business woman and beauty queen who won Miss World 1988.
Linda was born in Húsavík and raised there and in Vopnafjörður. She won Miss Iceland on 23 May 1988 and Miss ...
, Icelandic businesswoman, Miss World 1988
* Linda Porter (actress) (1933–2019), American actress
* Linda Purl
Linda Purl (born September 2, 1955) is an American actress and singer, known for her roles as Ashley Pfister (Fonzie's girlfriend) on '' Happy Days'' (she originally played Gloria as Richie’s date in season 2 episode 6), Sheila Munroe in the 198 ...
, American actress
* Linda Reichl (born 1942), American physicist
* Linda Reid (born 1959), Canadian politician and former MLA
* Linda Ronstadt
Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
, American singer
* Linda Schrenko, American politician from the state of Georgia
* Linda Seppänen, Swedish singer
* Linda Sheskey, American middle distance runner
* Linda J. Silberman
Linda J. Silberman is an American lawyer, currently the Martin Lipton Professor of Law at New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, ...
, American lawyer
* Linda Smith (disambiguation), several people
* Linda Staudt, Canadian long-distance runner
* Linda Sundblad (born 1981), Swedish singer
* Linda Teuteberg (born 1981), German politician
* Linda Thompson (disambiguation), several people
* Linda Tripp
Linda Rose Tripp ( née Carotenuto; November 24, 1949 – April 8, 2020) was an American civil servant who played a prominent role in the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal of 1998. Tripp's action in illegally and secretly recording Monica Lewinsky's ...
, Pentagon employee involved in the Lewinsky scandal of U.S. President Bill Clinton
* Linda Voortman, Dutch politician
* Linda Wagenmakers
Linda Wagenmakers (born 30 November 1975, Arnhem) is a Dutch singer and voice actress. She started her career at 21 playing Kim in the Dutch version of the musical ''Miss Saigon''. She played in the RTL 4 drama series ''Westenwind'', for which sh ...
(born 1975), Dutch singer
* Linda Winikow
Linda Winikow (May 9, 1940 – August 24, 2008) was an American politician from New York. Winikow pleaded guilty to grand larceny, commercial bribe receiving and making illegal campaign contributions.
Early life
On May 9, 1940, Winikow was bo ...
(1940–2008), New York state senator
* Linda Züblin, Swiss heptathlete
Fictional characters
* Linda, in the 2009 American comedy film ''The Hangover
''The Hangover'' is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips, co-produced with Daniel Goldberg, and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. It is the first installment in ''The Hangover'' trilogy. The film stars Bradley Cooper, E ...
''
* Linda Gunderson, the protagonist of the 2011 animated film ''Rio''
* Linda Belcher, wife of Bob Belcher in the animated comedy ''Bob's Burgers''
* Supergirl (Linda Danvers) , superhero in DC Comics
* Linda (Estonian mythology), in the Estonian national epic ''Kalevipoeg'', mother of the main hero, wife of Kalev
* Linda Flynn-Fletcher, the mother in the Disney Channel animated series ''Phineas and Ferb''
* Linda Gergenblatt, played Jennifer Aniston by in the 2012 American comedy film ''Wanderlust''
* Linda Melinda, the main protagonist in video game '' DreadOut''
* Linda Radlett in ''The Pursuit of Love
''The Pursuit of Love'' is a novel by Nancy Mitford, first published in 1945. It is the first in a trilogy about an upper-class English family in the interwar period focusing on the romantic life of Linda Radlett, as narrated by her cousin, Fa ...
'' by Nancy Mitford
* Linda (''Sesame Street''), on the children's television program ''Sesame Street''
* Linda Twist, in the Australian television series ''Round the Twist
''Round the Twist'' is an Australian children's comedy television series based on stories by author Paul Jennings that follows the supernatural adventures of the Twist family. The series was created and produced by Patricia Edgar, and develope ...
''
* Linda Woodward in ''The Three Clerks
''The Three Clerks'' (1857) is a novel by Anthony Trollope, set in the lower reaches of the Civil Service. It draws on Trollope's own experiences as a junior clerk in the General Post Office, and has been called the most autobiographical of Tr ...
'' by Anthony Trollope
* Linda, mentioned by Henry in video game ''Bendy and the Ink Machine
''Bendy and the Ink Machine''Commonly abbreviated as ''BatIM''. is an episodic first-person survival horror video game developed and published by Kindly Beast under the name of the game's in-universe animation studio Joey Drew Studios Inc. I ...
''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Linda (given name)
English feminine given names
Estonian feminine given names
Feminine given names