Linda
[ˈlɪndə]Meaning
medieval short form of Germanic names with the element lind, "soft, tender"; also the Spanish and Portuguese word for "beautiful"
Background Story
Linda began as a medieval short form of Germanic compound names ending in -lind or -linde, from Proto-Germanic *linþaz, "gentle, mild". It coincides with the Spanish and Portuguese word linda, "beautiful", with which it was later misassociated. The name became known through 19th-century literature and the opera Linda di Chamounix (1842), and in the English-speaking world it rose sharply in popularity from the 1930s, peaking in the late 1940s, and was the most popular girls' name in the United States from 1947 to 1952.
Variations
Lyndah, Lynde
Related Names
Laila
From the Arabic word layl, meaning "night" or "dark"
Layla
Means "night" in Arabic
Lolah
Reyna
Variant of Reina, a name meaning 'queen'
Yeira
A given name recorded in Spanish (Latin American), feminine
Alina
Short form of Adelina and Albina, and of names ending in -alina
Arisa
An Italian stage name; the sources checked give no meaning for it
Asami
From Japanese 麻 (asa) "hemp" and 美 (mi) "beautiful"
Baila
Variant of Beyle
Belia
Recorded as a feminine given name in Medieval Jewish, Dutch and other languages