Linda (name)

Gender	Female
Language(s)	German
Related names	Linde, Dietlinde, Sieglinde

Linda is a female given name, of German origin, but widespread in the English-speaking world since the end of the nineteenth century. The German name Linde was originally an abbreviated form of older names such as Dietlinde and Sieglinde. In the form Linda it was used by the writer Jean Paul for a leading character in his four-volume novel Titan, published 1800–1803, and it became popular in German-speaking countries thereafter.

The name-element Linde is possibly derived from the same root as the linden tree, with reference to a shield made of that wood, but may have become associated with Germanic lind meaning "soft, tender", the image of the tree being used to indicate a gentle personality. Alternatively, Linde may represent Old German Lindi or Linda, meaning a serpent. Subsequent support for its appeal may have come from the neo-Latin language (Italian, Spanish or Portuguese) word , which is the feminine form of lindo, meaning "beautiful, pretty, cute" (Spanish and Portuguese) and "clean" (Italian).

Among other names in use in English speaking countries that include the -linda suffix are Melinda, Belinda, Celinda, and Rosalinda.

The name days for Linda are on February 13 (Hungary, Poland), April 15 (Finland/Germany), June 19 (Switzerland), June 20 (Sweden), August 21 (Latvia), September 1 (Czech Republic), September 2 (Slovakia), and September 4 (Poland).

In the Albanian version, Linda is a feminine name which means "birth" or "fertility". The masculine form is Lind. In African terms the name Linda means "wait" and is not gender based, similar names are Lindiwe also meaning "waited for" but often just written as Lindi in short. Similar names are Lindo which is short for Lindokuhle ( waiting for something beautiful), it is a South African-American name related to Linda

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