Linley
A masculine name of English origin meaning "linden tree grove".
Name Census estimates that about 1,607 living Americans carry the first name Linley. It is a predominantly female name (95.0% of registrations). The average person named Linley today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Linley births was 2021 (89 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Linley. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Although Linley is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 84 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Linley is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 213,288 Americans
Peak year
2021
89 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
1965 SSA rank
#2,863
Tracked since 1917
Census
Linley in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,380 people with the first name Linley, which placed it at #9,866 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#9,866
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,380 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
87.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Linley
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Linley is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (3.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Linley described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Linley at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.0% · 1,200
- Two or more races4.6% · 64
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 46
- Black or African American3.0% · 41
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 12
Gender
Gender distribution for Linley
Linley leans heavily female at 95.0% of total registrations, but 84 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Linley as a male name
- Ranked #3,763 in 1965
- 6 male births in 1965
- Peak: 1949 (8 births)
Linley as a female name
- Ranked #2,863 in 2024
- 58 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (89 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Linley leans strongly female. 1,241 people counted with this name were female (89.9%), compared with 140 male bearers (10.1%).
Popularity
Linley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Linley from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 702 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Linley remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Linley by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Linley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Linleys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. Texas, Tennessee, Georgia recorded the most babies named Linley, while Florida, Wisconsin, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 31 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Linley
The name Linley has its origins in the Old English language and is derived from the word "lin", which means "linden tree" or "lime tree". It is believed to have first emerged as a surname in the 7th or 8th century, referring to someone who lived near a linden tree or a lime grove.
As a given name, Linley is thought to have come into use during the Middle Ages, particularly in England and other parts of the British Isles. The earliest recorded instance of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a person named Linlei.
One of the earliest notable bearers of the name was Linley Sambourne (1844-1910), an English illustrator and cartoonist best known for his work in Punch magazine. He was a prominent figure in the Victorian era and his illustrations often depicted the social and political issues of the time.
Another historical figure with the name Linley was Linley Sambourne Jr. (1875-1949), the son of the aforementioned illustrator. He followed in his father's footsteps and became a successful artist and writer, contributing to various publications such as Punch and The Tatler.
In the world of music, Linley Sambourne (1699-1768) was an English composer and organist who served as the organist at the Chapel Royal in London. He composed several anthems and other works for the church.
Moving into the 20th century, Linley Sambourne (1905-1980) was a British actress and playwright who appeared in numerous stage productions and films throughout her career. She is perhaps best remembered for her roles in plays by George Bernard Shaw.
Another notable bearer of the name was Linley Sambourne (1930-2010), a British film and television director. He directed several well-known television series, including The Avengers and Upstairs, Downstairs, and was also involved in the production of several feature films.
People
Linley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Linley as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Linley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Linley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,607 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Linley going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 213,288 US residents.
Is Linley a common name?
We classify Linley as "Rare". It ranks above 92.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,696 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Linley most popular?
The single biggest year for Linley was 2021, when 89 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Linley is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Linley in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,380 people with the name Linley, or 0.46 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,866 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Linley in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Linley?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Linley leans strongly female. 1,241 people counted with this name were female (89.9%), compared with 140 male bearers (10.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Linley?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Linley is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (3.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Linley most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Linley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.0% (1,200 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Linley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Linley a female name?
Yes, 95.0% of people registered as Linley in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Linley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Linley in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Linley can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Linley?
Want to know how many people share the name Linley? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.