# Linda (given name)

Linda is an English feminine given name that has been widespread in the English-speaking world since the end of the nineteenth century.

## Etymology

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 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, Belinda, Celinda, and Rosalinda.
The name days for Linda are on February 13 (Hungary, Poland), April 15 (Finland, Germany), May 17 (United States), 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. In South African terms the name Linda means "wait" and is not gender based; similar names are Lindiwe also meaning "waited for" but often just written as Lindi in short. Lindokuhle (waiting for something beautiful) and its short form Lindo are related South African-American names.

## Usage

Linda was at the height of popularity in the Anglosphere in the middle of the 20th century, particularly in the 1950s. Increased use of the name has been attributed to the hit song “Linda” written by Jack Lawrence and recorded by different artists in 1946. The name has since declined in use. In recent years, Linda has been a name that is more common for the daughters of Chinese and South Korean immigrants to the United States.

## Notable people

* Linda Barker, British television presenter and interior designer
* Linda L. M. Bennett, American political scientist
* Linda Blair, American actress
* Linda Bolder, Israeli-Dutch Olympic judoka
* Linda Bove, American actress
* Linda M. Boxer, American hematologist and academic administrator
* Linda Brasil (born 1973), Brazilian politician
* Linda Burney (born 1957), Australian politician
* Linda Caicedo (born 2005), Colombian footballer
* Linda Gist Calvin, American businesswoman and 41st President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution
* Linda Carter Brinson, American journalist and writer
* Linda Lee Cadwell, American teacher, widow of martial artist Bruce Lee
* Linda Cardellini, American actress
* Linda S. Carter, American politician
* Linda Chung, Chinese-Canadian actress
* Linda Clement, Scottish field hockey player
* Linda Coffee, American lawyer, known for representing Jane Roe in Roe v. Wade
* Linda Cohn, American sportscaster.
* Linda Consolante, Canadian football (soccer) defender
* Linda Cook (1962–1986), English murder victim
* Linda Cristal, Argentinian actress
* Linda Dano, American actress, businesswoman, writer
* Linda Darnell, American actress
* Linda de Mol, Dutch entertainer
* Linda Dunikoski, American lawyer and prosecutor
* Linda Eder, American Broadway singer and actress
* Linda Evans, American actress
* Linda Evangelista, Canadian supermodel
* Linda Fairstein (born 1947), American author and former prosecutor
* Linda Fiorentino, Italian-American actress
* Linda Gass, American environmental activist and artist
* Linda Gillard, British writer
* Linda Granfield (born 1950), American-Canadian writer
* Linda Grant (born 1951), British writer
* Linda Grant DePauw (born 1940), American historian and author
* Linda Gray, American actress
* Linda Haglund, Swedish short-distance runner
* Linda M. Haines (born 1944), English and South African statistician
* Linda Halimi, Albanian singer and songwriter
* Linda Hamilton, American actress
* Linda Hargreaves, British actress
* Linda Henry (born 1959), British actress
* Linda Hesse (born 1987), German singer
* Linda Hogan (ethicist) (born 1964), Irish ethicist, theologian and academic
* Linda Hogan (writer) (born 1947), Chickasaw writer and environmentalist
* Linda Hogan (TV personality), American television personality, ex-wife of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan
* Linda Hunt (born 1945), American actress
* Linda King, American sculptor, playwright and poet
* Linda King (bowls), Hong Kong international lawn and indoor bowler
* Linda King (virologist), virologist in the United Kingdom
* Linda Knowles, British high jumper
* Linda Kuk, Hong Kong film producer
* Linda Lai Chiu-han, Hong Kong-based academic, artist, curator and art historian
* Linda Lampenius, Finnish violinist
* Linda Lanzillotta (born 1948), Italian politician
* Linda Larkin, American actress
* Linda Lavin, American actress
* Linda Lawton, British researcher in cyanobacteria
* Linda Liao, Taiwanese celebrity
* Linda Lingle, governor of Hawaii
* Linda Lovelace, American former pornographic actress, later anti-pornography activist
* Linda Lucero, American artist
* Linda Lusardi (born 1958), British actress, television presenter
* Linda Mackenzie (born 1983), Australian freestyle swimmer
* Linda Mazri (born 2001), Algerian badminton player
* Linda McCartney (1941–1998), American photographer, first wife of Paul McCartney
* Linda McGill (born 1945), Australian former competition swimmer
* Linda McLean (born 1957), Canadian musician
* Linda McMahon, American professional wrestling executive and politician
* Linda Nolan (born 1959), Irish singer
* 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 Patricia Pérez López (born 1998), Venezuelan Paralympic athlete who competes in sprinting events
* Linda Perry, American singer-songwriter
* Linda Pétursdóttir, Icelandic businesswoman, Miss World 1988
* Linda Porter (actress) (1933–2019), American actress
* Linda Purl, American actress
* Linda Reaves (1949–1985), American murder victim
* Linda Reichl (born 1942), American physicist
* Linda Reid (born 1959), Canadian politician and former MLA
* Linda Robson (born 1958), English actress
* Linda Ronstadt (born 1946), American singer
* Linda Schrenko, American politician from the state of Georgia
* Linda Seppänen, Swedish singer
* Linda Sheskey, American middle distance runner
* Linda J. Silberman, American lawyer
* Linda Smith (disambiguation), several people
* Linda Smith (comedian) (1958–2006), English radio comedy performer, stand-up comic and writer
* Linda Smith (American politician) (born 1950), American congresswoman, 1995–1999
* Linda Smith (novelist) (1949–2007), Canadian writer of children's fiction
* Linda B. Smith (active since 1993), American psychology professor
* Linda Smith (dancer), American artistic director in Utah Repertory Dance Theatre
* Linda Catlin Smith (born 1957), American composer
* Linda Ellerbee (born 1944), a.k.a. Linda Smith, American journalist
* Linda Smith Dyer (1946–2001), American women's rights activist
* Linda Tuhiwai Smith, New Zealand education academic
* Linda Smith, American home recording artist
* Linda Smith (bowls), Hong Kong international lawn bowler
* Linda Sobeh (born 1968), Palestinian diplomat
* Linda Staudt, Canadian long-distance runner
* Linda Sundblad (born 1981), Swedish singer
* Linda Teuteberg (born 1981), German politician
* Linda Thompson (singer) (born 1947), British folk singer
* Linda G. Thompson (born 1948), member of the German band Silver Convention, and also a solo performer
* Linda Thompson (actress) (born 1950), American actress and songwriter
* Linda Thompson (attorney) (1953–2009), Indiana attorney known for her conspiracy theories surrounding Waco siege and Bill Clinton
* Linda D. Thompson (born c. 1961), former mayor of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
* Linda Thompson (artistic director), Australian operatic soprano, producer and stage director
* Linda Chavez-Thompson (born 1944), executive vice-president of the AFL-CIO
* Linda Chatman Thomsen, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission official
* Linda Tripp, Pentagon employee involved in the Lewinsky scandal of US President Bill Clinton
* Linda Voortman, Dutch politician
* Linda Wagenmakers (born 1975), Dutch singer
* Linda Walsh (born 1958), British scientist at the University of Zurich who specializes in radiation epidemiology
* Linda Winikow (1940–2008), New York state senator
* Linda Yaccarino (born 1962), American media executive, CEO of Twitter
* Linda Zervakis (born 1975), German-Greek television presenter
* Linda Zhang, American automotive engineer
* Linda Züblin, Swiss heptathlete

## Fictional characters

* Linda, a character in the 1988 American science fiction movie Mac and Me
* Linda, a character in the 2009 American comedy film The Hangover
* Linda, a character on the children's television program Sesame Street
* Linda, a character in Estonian mythology
* Linda Belcher, wife of Bob Belcher in the animated comedy Bob's Burgers
* Supergirl (Linda Danvers), a DC Comics superhero
* Linda Flynn-Fletcher, the mother of Phineas in the Disney Channel animated series Phineas and Ferb
* Linda Gergenblatt, a character in the 2012 American comedy film Wanderlust
* Linda Gunderson, the protagonist of the 2011 animated film Rio
* Linda Melinda, the main protagonist in video game DreadOut
* Linda Mitchell, mother of two in the science fiction comedy film The Mitchells vs. the Machines
* Linda Radlett, a character in The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
* Linda Twist, a character in the Australian television series Round the Twist
* Linda Woodward, a character in The Three Clerks by Anthony Trollope
* Linda Monroe, the secondary antagonist of Black Friday (musical) by StarKid
* Lynda Van Der Klok, a character in Halloween, played by P. J. Soles
* Linda B. the female protagonist in A Girl in Exile by Ismail Kadare