Linnea
A feminine name of Swedish origin derived from the word for "linden tree".
Name Census estimates that about 7,869 living Americans carry the first name Linnea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Linnea today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Linnea births was 2015 (177 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Linnea. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Linnea with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
7.9K
~ 1 in 43,558 Americans
Peak year
2015
177 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,608
Tracked since 1894
Census
Linnea in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 7,782 people with the first name Linnea, which placed it at #2,921 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
#2,921
National first-name rank
People counted
7.8K
7,782 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Linnea
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Linnea is White at 85.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Linnea 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 Linnea at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.7% · 6,671
- Two or more races4.7% · 369
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 325
- Black or African American3.2% · 251
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 131
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 35
Popularity
Linnea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Linnea from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,512 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Linnea remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Linnea 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 Linnea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Linneas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 28 states and territories. California, Illinois, Minnesota recorded the most babies named Linnea, while Nevada, Missouri, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 193 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Linnea
Linnea is a feminine given name of Swedish origin, derived from the Swedish word "linn," meaning "linden tree." The linden tree holds significant cultural and symbolic importance in Scandinavian folklore and mythology, often associated with love, fertility, and protection.
The name Linnea is believed to have emerged during the 18th century, inspired by the renowned Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus, who was known as the "father of modern taxonomy." Linnaeus had a deep fascination with the linden tree and used its Latin name, Tilia, as a part of his botanical classification system.
In Swedish literature, the name Linnea gained prominence through the 1828 novel "The Curate's Guest: A Narrative of the Last Century" by Fredrika Bremer. The novel featured a character named Linnea, who embodied the virtues of Swedish womanhood, contributing to the name's popularity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Linnea can be traced back to the 16th century, when a Swedish noblewoman named Linnea Ribbing (1520-1580) was mentioned in historical records. However, the name remained relatively obscure until the 19th century when it gained wider usage.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Linnea, including:
1. Linnea Arvidsson (1826-1892), a Swedish artist and illustrator known for her botanical illustrations.
2. Linnea Qvick (1958-2009), a Swedish singer and actress who gained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s.
3. Linnea Malmö (born 1992), a Swedish pop singer and songwriter who rose to fame as a contestant on the reality show "Idol" in 2010.
4. Linnea Torstenson (born 1983), a Swedish singer and songwriter who has represented Sweden in international song contests.
5. Linnea Paulina Hellriegel (1821-1904), a Swedish author and translator who played a significant role in introducing European literature to Swedish readers.
While the name Linnea has its roots in Swedish culture and language, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly in Scandinavian countries and regions with strong Nordic influences. The name's connection to nature and its melodic sound have contributed to its appeal across various cultures.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Linnea
People
Linnea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Linnea 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
Linnea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Linnea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7,869 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Linnea 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 43,558 US residents.
Is Linnea a common name?
We classify Linnea as "Rare". It ranks above 97.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 9,793 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Linnea most popular?
The single biggest year for Linnea was 2015, when 177 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Linnea is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Linnea in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 7,782 people with the name Linnea, or 2.58 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,921 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 Linnea 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 Linnea?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Linnea appears almost entirely female. Of the 7,792 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Linnea?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Linnea is White at 85.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Linnea most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Linnea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.7% (6,671 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 Linnea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Linnea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Linnea 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 Linnea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Linnea 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 Linnea 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 common is the name Linnea?
See how many people share the name Linnea on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.