Given name
Cindy
In English use, Cindy is used as an affectionate form of Cynthia.
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Cindy is a variant of Cynthia. An origin associated with Cynthia is Greek.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English use, Cindy is used as an affectionate form of Cynthia.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1886. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Cindy is a variant of Cynthia. The history of Cynthia gives this family its wider story. In mythological stories, Cynthia is a name for the moon goddess. Cindy is an affectionate form of Lucinda. The history of Lucinda gives this family its wider story. Lucinda appears in Cervantes’s Don Quixote. The related form Lucinde was used by Molière and later by Friedrich von Schlegel, while Lucinda became established in England in the eighteenth century.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Cindy through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 258,065
- 771 boys · 257,294 girls
- Most popular year
- 1957
- 20,307 babies
- 2025
- 100
- #1,929 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −41%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 100 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,929 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 41.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 20,272 in 1957. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (15). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 240,226 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Cindy’s family of names
In English usage, Cindy is a diminutive of Cynthia. In German usage, Cindy has a conventional equivalent in Lucinda. In English usage, Cindy is an affectionate form of Cynthia.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 13
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Cindy
- Cindy CrawfordAmerican model (born 1966)
- Cindy ShermanAmerican photographer (born 1954)
- Cindy KiroNew Zealand Governor-General, former academic and social justice advocateborn 1958
- Cindy McCaincommunity organizerborn 1954
- Cindy WilliamsAmerican actress and producer (1947–2023)
- Cindy KlassenCanadian speed skaterborn 1979
- Cindy SheehanAmerican antiwar activistborn 1957
- Cindy Hyde-SmithAmerican politician (born 1959)
- Cindy RolederTrack and field athleteborn 1989
Characters named Cindy: Cindy Campbell (fictional lead character from the Scary Movie franchise).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Cindy, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Cindee
>99% girls
Cindey
>99% girls
Cyndee
>99% girls
Cinda
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Cynthea
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Venus
“love”
1% boys · 99% girls
Diane
Diane is used as a given name and a surname. Diane is connected with Diana.
>99% girls
Cynda
>99% girls