Belinda
Belinda was the 1819th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 110 babies. Its best year was 1961, when it ranked 141st with 3,120 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 552 places. More babies were named Belinda in the 1960s than in any other decade.
Meaning Origin uncertain · English
Say it buh-LIN-duh /bəˈlɪndə/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,819 girls, down 225 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 110girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19613,120 babies
- Total since 1880
- 73,110babies recorded
What does the name Belinda mean?
Belinda is of uncertain origin. Wiktionary takes it as a literary coinage from belle or bella, "beautiful", with a Latin-looking ending -inda; Wikipedia also mentions a possible Old High German name Betlinde, whose second part may mean "linden tree" or "soft". The name owes its popularity to Alexander Pope's poem The Rape of the Lock (1714), whose heroine is Belinda; a moon of Uranus is named after her.
bella (Italian, “beautiful (possible source)”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. No documented etymology; both a coinage from "bella" and a Germanic name have been suggested.
See also: English names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Belinda', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wikipedia, 'Belinda', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
Nicknames for Belinda
The usual nicknames for Belinda are Linda and Belle. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Belinda in the last five years, 260 were named Linda, against 392 twenty years earlier. Belle is also gaining on the full name.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linda · also for Melinda | Traditional | #902 | 1,622 |
| Belle · also for Isabella, Isabelle, Arabella | Traditional | #1,013 | 1,267 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Belindas go by each one.
Belinda popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 150 since 1950.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,819 | 110 |
| 2020 | #1,594 | 131 |
| 2010 | #865 | 308 |
| 2000 | #1,433 | 128 |
| 1990 | #625 | 357 |
| 1980 | #349 | 681 |
| 1970 | #200 | 1,622 |
| 1960 | #150 | 2,814 |
| 1950 | #173 | 1,634 |
| 1940 | #935 | 59 |
| 1930 | #2,560 | 12 |
| 1920 | #2,916 | 11 |
| 1910 | #2,167 | 6 |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | #1,112 | 7 |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Belinda, counting every spelling?
Belinda has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #1,645 for girls in 2025, against #1,819 on the official list.
How many kids will share the name Belinda?
110 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Belinda (0.03 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Belinda born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 76 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Belinda.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Belinda?
About 63,100 people born in the US named Belinda are alive today, with a median age of 61; half are between 50 and 68. That makes Belinda a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Belinda by state
How common Belinda was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in California (2.5×), Florida (1.8×). In 40 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Belinda: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Belinda, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Belinda · Sibling names for Belinda
Questions about the name Belinda
What does Belinda mean?
The origin of Belinda is uncertain: no documented etymology; both a coinage from "bella" and a Germanic name have been suggested.
How popular is the name Belinda?
Belinda was the 1819th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 110 babies. Its best year was 1961, when it ranked 141st with 3,120 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 552 places. More babies were named Belinda in the 1960s than in any other decade.
Is Belinda a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Belinda in the US.
Where is Belinda most popular?
In 2021–2025, Belinda was most common in California (0.20 per 1,000 girls), followed by Florida and Texas.