Lina
Meaning
soft, tender (from the root lāna, "to be soft")
The story
Lina has been in the American records every decade since the 1890s, which surprises people who read it as new: about 560 girls then, a steady midcentury simmer, and a long acceleration to about 3,400 in the 2010s with about 2,900 so far this decade. Behind the Name gives the Arabic name as soft, tender, from the root lana, to be soft, with a second reading from lina, a type of palm tree, likely from the same root. Elsewhere it stands as the short form of every name ending in lina, and Sanskrit and Lithuanian carry their own separate Linas. Brazil knows it well too: about 8,900 residents in the census, inside the top 2,000. Four letters, many doors, and a full century of receipts behind it.
The formal names behind Lina
Lina is an established short form of each of these names.
Caroline · French origin · French feminine form of Charles (Germanic karl, 'man'); famously borne by Princess Caroline of Hanover, Monaco
Carolina · Portuguese origin · Latinate feminine form of Carolus (see Charles, from karl "man"); the two American states were named for King Charles I
Catalina · Spanish origin · pure
Paulina · Latin origin · feminine form of Paul, meaning 'small' or 'humble'
Karolina · Slavic origin · feminine form of Carolus (see Charles, from karl "man")
Alina · Germanic origin · traditionally linked to noble, as a short form of Adelina; a popular modern pick across Eastern Europe
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Lina peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
8,883 people · the #1,858 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 22,727 · median age 53
Among people named Lina living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 329 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Lina
Most people given the name Lina in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Lina deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Lina truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Lina fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Lina travels
Samoan · a common Samoan short form, as in names like Salina or Malina
Keep exploring
Samoan baby names · Arab American baby names · Arabic baby names · Short names
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