Lincoln

What Lincoln means

Means “the Roman settlement Lindum Colonia”

Inherited from Middle English Lincolne, from Old English Lincolle, Lindcolen, Lindcylene, from Latin Lindum Colōnia (“the Roman settlement Lindum Colonia”), from Proto-Brythonic *llɨnn (“pool”), from Proto-Celtic *lindos (“lake, liquid”), i

Source: Wiktionary, “Lincoln” (revision 94541178), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Lincoln?

US: Steady: #66 in 2015, #69 now. England & Wales: Falling: down from #129 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2017, when 8,202 boys got the name (#41 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 363 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,801 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 2,182 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in WY (12.84 per 1,000 boys), NH (10.66 per 1,000 boys), ME (9.37 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Lincoln is #69 in the US and #302 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 98.4% of US babies named Lincoln were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Linkoln16 US
• Lyncoln7 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Lincoln

Boys

• Emerson#254Editor’s note Up from #300 in 2015 to #254 in 2025 in the US
• Jameson#137Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #137 vs #1,093 in 2025
• Emmett#121Diminutive of Emma, meaning “entire”^*
• Langston#999“long, tall + stone”^*
• Greyson#149Variant of Grayson, meaning “steward”^*
• Ryker#182Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #182 vs #1,066 in 2025

For a sister

• Scarlett#32Editor’s note Down from #22 in 2015 to #32 in 2025 in the US
• Elliott#599“my God is Yahweh”^*
• Kinsley#93“Royal (a man's name) + s + woodland clearing”^*
• Emery#74Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #74 vs #1,197 in 2025
• Evelyn#8Same root as Eileen, possibly meaning “radiance, beauty”^*
• Sawyer#290“one who saws”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Lincoln’s. Rank is US 2025.