girl's name
Lina
LEE-na
- Origin Arabic
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (France)
- Births on record 101,050
the United States
#572
2025 births
Lina is a girl's name with two separate sources: an Arabic word for a young palm tree, and a European short form of names ending in -lina such as Carolina and Angelina. It ranks seventeenth in France and is rising across Europe.
- Lina is a name of Arabic origin.
- Peaked in France in 2012, when 3,470 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 339 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Lina over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 1,555 |
| 1910s | 1,750 |
| 1920s | 2,090 |
| 1930s | 1,315 |
| 1940s | 860 |
| 1950s | 970 |
| 1960s | 895 |
| 1970s | 570 |
| 1980s | 610 |
| 1990s | 2,360 |
| 2000s | 16,800 |
| 2010s | 31,825 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 13,265 |
What Lina means
Lina means a young palm tree in Arabic, with a secondary sense of tenderness or delicacy. As a European short form it has no meaning of its own, taking whatever the longer name behind it carries.
Where Lina comes from
Lina has two independent origins that have converged on one spelling. The Arabic lina denotes a young palm tree and appears in the Quran; the word carries connotations of softness and pliancy. Separately, European languages clipped the ending from Carolina, Angelina, Adelina and Paulina to make Lina as a pet form, a process that produced Nina and Tina in exactly the same way. Because the two traditions meet in France, where both Arabic and Romance naming are well established, Lina's French popularity draws on both at once, and neither reading can be called the correct one.
Lina in use
Lina ranks seventeenth in France with about 1,755 births in 2025, and it has genuine reach beyond it: 234 in England and Wales, 294 in Scotland, 572 in the United States. Its peak in our records is 2024, so it is close to its high point rather than past it. Names with two unrelated origins usually favor one; Lina is unusual in that both are live at the same time in the same country.
How popular is Lina?
In 2025, Lina was given to 1,740 babies in France, ranking #17 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Lina is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
How Lina is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Lïna | Lïna is a rare spelling of Lina, written with a diaeresis and recorded about 70 times, mostly in France. | 70 |
| Lîna | Lîna is a rare spelling of Lina, written with a circumflex and recorded about 60 times, mostly in France. | 60 |
| Li-Na | Li-Na is Lina written with a hyphen, recorded mostly in France. | 25 |
| Linâ | Linâ is a rare spelling of Lina, written with a circumflex and recorded about 5 times, mostly in France. | 5 |
Names that peaked alongside Lina
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Lina also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Lina over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Lina in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Lina
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Lina — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Lina
What does the name Lina mean?
In Arabic it means a young palm tree, with a sense of tenderness. In Europe it is a short form of names like Carolina and Angelina.
Why do sources disagree about Lina?
Two unrelated origins produced the same spelling, and in France both traditions are live at once.
Is Lina the same as Lena?
They are usually treated as separate names, though both function as short forms of longer -lina and -lena names.
How popular is Lina?
Seventeenth in France, 234th in England and Wales, and near its peak in our records.
Is Lina a girl's or a boy's name?
Lina is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Lina?
Lina has 2 syllables.
Is Lina a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Lina currently ranks #17 in France. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.