Lina
Lina was the 572nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 527 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 221st; the most babies were born in 2024 (534). Over the last ten years it has moved up 279 places. More babies were named Lina in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Lena) short form of Helena, Magdalena and similar names · German, Scandinavian, Italian
- Rank in 2025
- #572 girls, up 118 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 527girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2024534 babies
- Total since 1880
- 19,494babies recorded
What does the name Lina mean?
Lina is a spelling of Lena, pronounced the same way, so it shares Lena's meaning and origin.
Lena began as a pet form of longer names ending in -lena or -line. Wiktionary points to Helena, Magdalena and Russian Yelena; DMNES, which records Lena in Germany in 1408 and Italy in 1367, sees it as a short form of names such as Adeline or Emmeline. Because it can stand for several names, it has no single meaning of its own. It has been used as an independent name in the US since the 19th century.
How sure is this? Well established. Lena is clearly a pet form, but sources differ on which longer names it comes from.
Related names: Helena, Magdalena, Lina, Leena.
See also: Germanic names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Lena', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Lena', DMNES, Durham University
- CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (cmudict), Carnegie Mellon University
Lina popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 5 since 1985.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #572 | 527 |
| 2020 | #690 | 413 |
| 2010 | #855 | 315 |
| 2000 | #1,136 | 180 |
| 1990 | #1,135 | 153 |
| 1980 | #970 | 153 |
| 1970 | #1,188 | 97 |
| 1960 | #1,243 | 78 |
| 1950 | #1,151 | 65 |
| 1940 | #913 | 62 |
| 1930 | #736 | 91 |
| 1920 | #691 | 111 |
| 1910 | #494 | 68 |
| 1900 | #421 | 65 |
| 1890 | #321 | 63 |
| 1880 | #221 | 49 |
How popular is Lina, counting every spelling?
Lina is a spelling of Lena, a name family that ranked #177 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #572 for Lina on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,968 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lena | 1,106 | #279 | 5,792 |
| Lina | 527 | #572 | 2,529 |
| Leena | 212 | #1,115 | 1,074 |
| Lenna | 115 | #1,761 | 548 |
| Leenah | 8 | #11,493 | 38 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Lina?
527 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Lina (0.15 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Lina 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 16 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Lina.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Lina?
About 14,800 people born in the US named Lina are alive today, with a median age of 20; half are between 9 and 40. That makes Lina mostly worn by children and young adults.
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.
Lina by state
How common Lina was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Massachusetts (2.7×), Connecticut (2.4×), New Jersey (2.4×), New York (1.9×), Virginia (1.8×). In 20 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 Lina: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Lina, they share its era and feel.
Lina is also a nickname for Evelina, Adeline, Alina, Catalina, Angelina, Adelina, Carolina and Rosalina.
Questions about the name Lina
What does Lina mean?
Lina is a spelling of Lena, which means “short form of Helena, Magdalena and similar names” (German, Scandinavian, Italian origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Lina?
Lina was the 572nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 527 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 221st; the most babies were born in 2024 (534). Over the last ten years it has moved up 279 places. More babies were named Lina in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Lina a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Lina in the US.
Where is Lina most popular?
In 2021–2025, Lina was most common in Massachusetts (0.85 per 1,000 girls), followed by Connecticut and New Jersey.