Linda (name)
| Linda | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | German |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Linde, Dietlinde, Sieglinde |
 |
Look up Linda in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Linda is a female given name, originally German, 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]
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. Alternatively, Linde may represent Old German Lindi or Linda, meaning a serpent.[1] 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).
Lynda is a common variant spelling of the name in English. 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), June 19 (Switzerland), June 20 (Sweden), August 21 (Latvia), September 1 (Czech Republic), September 2 (Slovakia), and September 4 (Poland).
Notable people
- Linda Barker, British television presenter
- Linda L. M. Bennett, administrator and professor of political science at University of Southern Indiana
- Linda Blair, American actress
- Linda Bove, American actress
- Linda Chung, Chinese-Canadian actress
- Linda Clement, Scottish field hockey player
- Linda Coffee, American lawyer famous for representing Jane Roe in Roe v. Wade
- Linda Consolante, Canadian football (soccer) defender
- Linda Cristal, Argentinian actress
- Linda Darnell, American actress
- Linda de Mol, Dutch entertainer
- Linda Evans, American actress
- Linda Evangelista, Canadian supermodel
- Linda Fiorentino, Italian-American actress
- Linda Grant (born 1951), British journalist and author, winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction and nominee for the Booker Prize
- Linda Gray, American actress
- Linda Haglund, Swedish short-distance runner
- Linda Hamilton, American actress
- Linda Hogan (born 1947), Native American poet, storyteller, academic, playwright, novelist, environmentalist, and writer of short stories
- Linda Hogan (TV personality), wife of Hulk Hogan
- Linda Knowles, British high jumper
- Linda Lampenius, Finnish violinist
- Linda Lavin, American actress
- Linda Liao, Taiwanese celebrity
- Linda Lingle, governor of Hawaii
- Linda Lovelace, American pornographic actress, later an anti-pornography activist
- Linda Lusardi (born 1958), British actress, television presenter and former glamour model
- Linda McCartney, first wife of Paul McCartney
- Linda Olofsson, Swedish freestyle swimmer
- Linda Papadopoulos, English-Greek psychologist
- Linda Perry, an American singer, songwriter and record producer
- Linda Pétursdóttir, Miss World from Iceland and businesswoman
- Linda Purl, American actress
- Linda Ronstadt, American singer
- Linda Schrenko, American politician from the state of Georgia
- Linda Seppänen, Swedish singer and one of the contestants in Swedish Idol 2006
- Linda Sheskey, American middle distance runner
- Linda Smith (disambiguation), several people
- Linda Staudt, Canadian long-distance runner
- Linda Thompson (disambiguation), several people
- Linda Tripp, a Pentagon employee involved in the Lewinsky scandal of U.S. President Bill Clinton
- Linda Voortman, Dutch politician
- Linda Wagenmakers (born 1975), Dutch singer
- Linda Winikow (1940–2008), New York state senator
- Linda Züblin, Swiss heptathlete
Fictional characters
- Linda (Estonian mythology), in the Estonian national epic Kalevipoeg, mother of the main hero, wife of Kalev
- Supergirl (Linda Danvers)
- Linda (Sesame Street), on the children's program Sesame Street
References
- 1 2 Withycombe, E. G. (1977). The Concise Dictionary of English Christian Names (third ed.). Oxford University Press.
- 1 2 3 Drosdowski, Günther (1974). Lexicon der Vornamen (second ed.). Duden.