Lynn

Where Lynn comes from

The dictionaries list Lynn as a given name — a male given name transferred from the surname, usually used as a middle name — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • 1 syllable
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #836 among girls — 5 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1938
    Lynn Margulis born
    American evolutionary biologist
  3. 1942
    Mostly girls from here
    Until now more boys than girls got the name; from this year it's the other way round, and has stayed that way.
  4. 1943
    Lynn Redgrave born
    British actress
  5. 1956
    Peak, #58
    7,736 babies named Lynn — more than any year before or since.
  6. 1969
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #103.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name transferred from the surname, usually used as a middle name.
  • A female given name transferred from the surname, popular as a middle name.
  • A female given name, variant of Lyn, popular as a middle name.
Namesakes
  • Lynn Margulis · American evolutionary biologist, 1938–2011
  • Lynn Redgrave · British actress, 1943–2010
  • Lynn Collins · American actress, born 1977
  • Lynn Conway · American computer scientist and electrical engineer, 1938–2024
  • Lynn Fontanne · British actress, 1887–1983

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.