UK girl's name
Lindsey
A feminine name of English origin meaning "from the linden tree valley".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2022. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Lindsey is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Lindsey popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2022 in this profile. In that release it ranked #5669, with 3 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 1996, with 80 births.
This profile covers 434 England and Wales registrations across 25 recorded years from 1996 to 2022. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 4% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 1,669 living people in the UK are called Lindsey. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2023 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Lindsey ranked #5669 for girls in England and Wales in 2022, with 3 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 1996, when 80 girls were registered as Lindsey.
- • Lindsey ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #301 in 1998.
- • About 1,669 living people in the UK are estimated to have Lindsey as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#5669
2022
Births in 2022
3
Latest year
Peak year
1996
80 births
Estimated living
1,669
2026
Meaning
What does Lindsey mean?
Lindsey is an English given name derived from the Old English word "lindesig" which means "from the linden trees". The name has its origins in the Anglo-Saxon regions of England and dates back to the Middle Ages. It was originally a surname referring to someone who lived near a linden tree or a grove of linden trees.
The earliest recorded use of Lindsey as a given name is from the 13th century, when it was primarily used as a masculine name. Over time, it transitioned to become more commonly used as a feminine name. The name was particularly popular in the English counties of Lincolnshire and Norfolk, where the linden tree was abundant.
One of the earliest notable bearers of the name was Lindsey of Tolvern, a 14th-century English nobleman who fought in the Hundred Years' War. Another early example is Lindsey Nicholas, an English Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake in 1555 during the Marian Persecutions.
In more recent history, some notable individuals named Lindsey include:
1. Lindsey Buckingham (born 1949), American singer-songwriter and lead guitarist of Fleetwood Mac. 2. Lindsey Davis (born 1949), English novelist best known for her historical detective novels set in ancient Rome. 3. Lindsey Vonn (born 1984), American former World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist. 4. Lindsey Stirling (born 1986), American violinist, dancer, and composer known for her choreographed violin performances. 5. Lindsey Graham (born 1955), American politician and senior United States Senator from South Carolina.
While the name Lindsey has been more commonly used for females in recent decades, it has a rich historical background as a masculine name, with roots dating back to the Anglo-Saxon era and the linden trees that were once abundant in parts of England.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Lindsey over time
The chart below shows babies named Lindsey registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2022. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Lindsey, the clearest high point is 1996. The latest England and Wales figure is 3 births in 2022, compared with 80 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lindsey by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Lindsey was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #5102 | 7 | 2 |
| 2010s | #4224 | 50 | 9 |
| 2000s | #1665 | 143 | 10 |
| 1990s | #509 | 234 | 4 |
Geography
Where Lindsey is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Lindsey. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Lindsey ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #301 in 1998.
Across the UK
Lindsey in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#663 in 2004
31 years of NRS records, 1,256 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#301 in 1998
1 years of NISRA records, 4 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Lindsey
-
Lindsey Connell
actor; film director; film actor
British actress
2000-
-
Lindsey Ireland
badminton player
badminton player
1996-
-
Lindsey Chapman
television presenter; radio personality
Television Presenter
1984-
-
Lindsey Maguire
rower
British rower
1982-
-
Lindsey Weedon
pentathlete
1982-
-
Lindsey Greechan
British lawn bowler
1981-
-
Lindsey Kelk
writer; editing staff; journalist; novelist
writer
1980-
-
Lindsey Fawcett
actor
British actress
1979-
Related
Names similar to Lindsey
- Lily 72,956
- Lucy 70,663
- Lauren 50,664
- Leah 33,185
- Lola 24,525
- Layla 24,520
- Laura 23,471
- Lilly 21,714
- Lydia 18,353
- Libby 14,515
- Lara 13,415
- Lacey 13,406
FAQ
Lindsey: questions and answers
How popular is the name Lindsey in the UK right now?
In 2022, Lindsey was ranked #5669 for girls in England and Wales, with 3 births registered.
When was Lindsey most popular?
The peak year on record was 1996, with 80 babies registered as Lindsey in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Lindsey?
A feminine name of English origin meaning "from the linden tree valley".
How many people are called Lindsey in the UK?
A total of 434 babies have been registered as Lindsey across the 25 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 1,256 more in Scotland and 4 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Lindsey most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Lindsey ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #301 in 1998. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.