Linda is a female given name, of German origin, but widespread in the English-speaking world since the end of the nineteenth century.[1] The German name Linde was originally an abbreviated form of older names such as Dietlinde and Sieglinde.[2] 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.[2]
 An ancient word 'lind,' which stands for a shield made of linden tree | |
| Gender | Female |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | German |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Lynda, Lyndal, Linde, Dietlinde, Sieglinde |
The name-element Linde is possibly derived from the same root as the linden tree, with reference to a shield made of that wood,[2] 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), [3]June 19 (Switzerland), June 20 (Sweden), June 25 (Estonia), August 21 (Latvia), September 1 (Czech Republic), September 2 (Slovakia), and September 4 (Poland)[citation needed].
In the Albanian version, Linda is a feminine name which means "birth" or "fertility". The masculine form is Lind.[4] 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.[clarification needed] Lindokuhle (waiting for something beautiful) and its short form Lindo are related South African-American names.
Notable people
edit- 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 Mazri (born 2001), Algerian badminton player
- Linda McCartney (1941–1998), American photographer, first wife of Paul McCartney
- 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 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 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 Zhang, American automotive engineer
- Linda Züblin, Swiss heptathlete
Fictional characters
edit- 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
References
edit- ^ Withycombe, E. G. (1977). The Concise Dictionary of English Christian Names (third ed.). Oxford University Press.
- ^ a b c Drosdowski, Günther (1974). Lexicon der Vornamen (second ed.). Duden.
- ^ "National Linda Day | May 17".
- ^ "Libri i emrave shqiptar". www.trepca.net. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
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