UK girl's name
Lynsey
A feminine given name of Scottish origin meaning "from the linden tree island".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2010. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Lynsey is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Lynsey popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2010 in this profile. In that release it ranked #4688, with 4 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 1996, with 30 births.
This profile covers 107 England and Wales registrations across 11 recorded years from 1996 to 2010. 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 13% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 4,405 living people in the UK are called Lynsey. 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 2011 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Lynsey ranked #4688 for girls in England and Wales in 2010, with 4 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 1996, when 30 girls were registered as Lynsey.
- • Lynsey ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #348 in 2000.
- • About 4,405 living people in the UK are estimated to have Lynsey as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#4688
2010
Births in 2010
4
Latest year
Peak year
1996
30 births
Estimated living
4,405
2026
Meaning
What does Lynsey mean?
The given name Lynsey is derived from the Old English name Linuseye, which can be traced back to the 7th century AD. Linuseye is believed to be composed of the Old English elements "lin" meaning flax or linen, and "seye" meaning small island or dry ground. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived or worked near a flax field on an island or raised ground.
The earliest recorded use of the name Lynsey is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of landowners and estates commissioned by William the Conqueror. It lists a landowner named Linuseye in the county of Norfolk, England. Over the centuries, variations in spelling emerged, including Linsey, Linsie, and Lyndsay.
In medieval times, the name Lynsey gained associations with the Scottish clan Lindsay, whose ancestral lands were in the county of East Lothian, Scotland. The Lindsay family claimed descent from a 12th-century Anglo-Norman nobleman named Walter de Lindesay, whose name is believed to be a variant of the Old English Linuseye.
One notable historical figure with the name Lynsey was Lynsey de Aubigny, a 13th-century noblewoman and heiress who became Countess of Arundel through her marriage to John FitzAlan, 7th Earl of Arundel. She played a role in the Second Barons' War against King Henry III.
Another individual with the name Lynsey was Lynsey de Guernevale, a 14th-century landowner and knight in the service of King Edward III of England. He participated in the Hundred Years' War against France and was present at the Battle of Crécy in 1346.
In the 16th century, Lynsey Percevall was a notable female writer and translator who produced English versions of several works by French authors, including The Hundred Tales of Tragical Sayings by François de Belleforest.
During the 17th century, Lynsey Howard was a English Puritan minister and author who wrote extensively on religious subjects and advocated for the reformation of the Church of England.
In more recent times, one of the most famous individuals with the name Lynsey was the 20th-century American actress Lynsey Wagner, known for her roles in films such as The Paper Chase and The Midnight Man. She was born in 1949 and is still active in the entertainment industry.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Lynsey over time
The chart below shows babies named Lynsey registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2010. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Lynsey, the clearest high point is 1996. The latest England and Wales figure is 4 births in 2010, compared with 30 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lynsey by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Lynsey 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | #4688 | 4 | 1 |
| 2000s | #2820 | 37 | 6 |
| 1990s | #1354 | 66 | 4 |
Geography
Where Lynsey is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Lynsey. 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.
Lynsey ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #348 in 2000.
Across the UK
Lynsey in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#783 in 2009
34 years of NRS records, 4,354 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#348 in 2000
3 years of NISRA records, 22 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Lynsey
-
Lynsey Baillie
association football player
British association football player
2003-
-
Lynsey McCleery
association football player
1993-
-
Lynsey Gallagher
netballer
Scottish netball player
1992-
-
Lynsey McCullough
tennis player
Irish tennis player
1991-
-
Lynsey Sharp
middle-distance runner
Scottish middle-distance runner
1990-
-
Lynsey Bulger
association football player
1987-
-
Lynsey Askew
cricketer
cricketer
1986-
-
Lynsey Clarke
athlete
Australian lawn bowler
1983-
Related
Names similar to Lynsey
- 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
Lynsey: questions and answers
How popular is the name Lynsey in the UK right now?
In 2010, Lynsey was ranked #4688 for girls in England and Wales, with 4 births registered.
When was Lynsey most popular?
The peak year on record was 1996, with 30 babies registered as Lynsey in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Lynsey?
A feminine given name of Scottish origin meaning "from the linden tree island".
How many people are called Lynsey in the UK?
A total of 107 babies have been registered as Lynsey across the 11 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 4,354 more in Scotland and 22 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Lynsey most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Lynsey ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #348 in 2000. 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.