Lincoln
Lincoln was the 69th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 4,703 babies. Its best year was 2020, when it ranked 40th; the most babies were born in 2017 (8,202). Over the last ten years it has moved down 3 places. More babies were named Lincoln in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning lake settlement (place name) · English, Latin, Brythonic
Say it LING-kuhn /ˈlɪŋkən/
- Rank in 2025
- #69 boys, down 29 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 4,703boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20178,202 babies
- Total since 1880
- 106,968babies recorded
What does the name Lincoln mean?
Lincoln is the name of a city in eastern England. The Romans called it Lindum Colonia: Lindum came from a Brittonic word for a pool or lake, referring to the Brayford Pool on the River Witham, and colonia was the Latin word for a Roman colony. The place name became an English surname. In the United States it became a first name in honor of President Abraham Lincoln, and many American towns took the name after 1865 for the same reason.
Lindum Colōnia (Latin, “Roman colony at Lindum”)*lindos (Proto-Celtic, “lake, pool”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Linc, Link.
See also: English names, names that mean water, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Lincoln', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Lincoln (name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Nicknames for Lincoln
The usual nicknames for Lincoln are Linc.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linc | Modern | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Lincolns go by each one.
Lincoln popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 2,050 since 1985, 75 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #69 | 4,703 |
| 2020 | #40 | 7,061 |
| 2010 | #199 | 1,871 |
| 2000 | #711 | 247 |
| 1990 | #856 | 143 |
| 1980 | #916 | 95 |
| 1970 | #687 | 146 |
| 1960 | #829 | 85 |
| 1950 | #739 | 87 |
| 1940 | #733 | 70 |
| 1930 | #674 | 86 |
| 1920 | #523 | 137 |
| 1910 | #459 | 36 |
| 1900 | #545 | 20 |
| 1890 | #553 | 13 |
| 1880 | #620 | 10 |
How popular is Lincoln, counting every spelling?
Lincoln is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #75 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #69 for Lincoln on its own. Together these spellings went to 4,726 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln | 4,703 | #69 | 26,474 |
| Linkoln | 16 | #5,748 | 131 |
| Lyncoln | 7 | #10,288 | 94 |
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 Lincoln?
4,703 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Lincoln (1.30 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Lincoln born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is about 1 in 41. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 2 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Lincoln.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Lincoln?
About 99,500 people born in the US named Lincoln are alive today, with a median age of 9; half are between 5 and 13. That makes Lincoln a young name: most people with it are children.
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.
Lincoln by state
How common Lincoln was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Wyoming (4.2×), New Hampshire (3.3×), Vermont (3.2×), Maine (3.0×), West Virginia (2.9×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in California, New Jersey, New York.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Lincoln: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Lincoln, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Lincoln · Sibling names for Lincoln
Questions about the name Lincoln
What does Lincoln mean?
Lincoln means “lake settlement (place name)” (English, Latin, Brythonic origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Lincoln?
Lincoln was the 69th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 4,703 babies. Its best year was 2020, when it ranked 40th; the most babies were born in 2017 (8,202). Over the last ten years it has moved down 3 places. More babies were named Lincoln in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Lincoln a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Lincoln in the US.
Where is Lincoln most popular?
In 2021–2025, Lincoln was most common in Wyoming (12.96 per 1,000 boys), followed by New Hampshire and Vermont.