
linda (given name)

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. 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). it is also a common name in south africa, linda, meaning "wait" (isizulu and isixhosa).
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), june 25 (estonia), 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 south 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. lindokuhle (waiting for something beautiful) and its short form lindo are related south african-american names.

