girl's name
Lindsay
LIN-zee
- Origin Scottish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 153,744
Northern Ireland
#211
1997 births
Lindsay and Lindsey are the same place — a district of Lincolnshire that was effectively an island in fen. Lindsay is the older Scottish surname spelling and Lindsey the one that follows the English place.
- Lindsay is a name of Scottish origin.
- Peaked in 1983, when 8,713 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 39,470 babies in the United States is given this name.
- Lindsay started out as a boys' name and is now given almost entirely to girls.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Lindsay over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 62 |
| 1890s | 83 |
| 1900s | 89 |
| 1910s | 310 |
| 1920s | 476 |
| 1930s | 431 |
| 1940s | 825 |
| 1950s | 1,995 |
| 1960s | 1,397 |
| 1970s | 12,766 |
| 1980s | 69,149 |
| 1990s | 31,594 |
| 2000s | 12,333 |
| 2010s | 3,319 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 672 |
What Lindsay means
Lindsay means the island of Lincoln, or the wetland by it. The Old English ey is an island, applied to dry ground that fen and river enclosed rather than open water.
Where Lindsay comes from
Lindsay is the Scottish surname form of the Lincolnshire district Lindesig — the ey, an island, of Lindon, the Celtic name of Lincoln built on a word for a pool. A Norman family took the name north and became one of Scotland's great houses, Earls of Crawford, which is why the -ay spelling reads as Scottish while the -ey follows the English place. Both became American girls' names in the twentieth century and divided the same sound between them, with Lindsey slightly the larger in our data.
Lindsay in use
Lindsay peaked in the United States in 1983, when 8,713 babies were registered — a year before Lindsey's own 1984 peak — and is falling in our data. It now charts in three of the seven markets we track, at 1673rd in France on 20 births and 2202nd in the United States on 84, across 153,744 lifetime births. Lindsey, written up separately, holds 169,187 births, so the English spelling outsold the Scottish one by about fourteen percent.
How popular is Lindsay?
In 2025, Lindsay was given to 84 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Lindsay is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Lindsay
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Lindsay also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Lindsay over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Lindsay
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Lindsay 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.
- Dutch
- Lindsey
Sibling names for Lindsay
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Lindsay — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Lindsay
What does the name Lindsay mean?
The island of Lincoln — ground enclosed by fen and river rather than open water.
Is it Lindsay or Lindsey?
Lindsay is the Scottish surname spelling; Lindsey follows the English place. Lindsey is slightly the larger in our data.
Why is Lindsay a Scottish name?
A Norman family took it north and became Earls of Crawford, one of Scotland's great houses.
How popular is Lindsay?
2202nd in the United States, down from a 1983 peak of 8,622 births.
Is Lindsay a girl's or a boy's name?
Lindsay is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Lindsay?
Lindsay has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Lindsay?
Lindsay is usually shortened to Lin.
Is Lindsay a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Lindsay currently ranks #1,673 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.
Was Lindsay originally a boys' or girls' name?
Lindsay was given mostly to boys in the earliest US birth records and is now given almost entirely to girls.