Given name & surname
Lydia
“woman from Lydia”·“a beautiful woman from Lydia”
Lydia is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “woman from Lydia” (Greek) and “a beautiful woman from Lydia” (Greek). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Original GreekΛυδία
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “woman from Lydia” (Greek) and “a beautiful woman from Lydia” (Greek). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Greek.
How it developed
From Ancient Greek Λυδία (“the region of Lydia”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Lydia appears in Acts 16:14, Acts 16:40.
- Acts 16:14
- Acts 16:40
From biblical name research
Lydia through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 187,317
- 278 boys · 187,039 girls
- Most popular year
- 2014
- 3,652 babies
- 2025
- 2,692
- #92 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −13%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 2,692 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 92 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 13.4% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 3,652 in 2014. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (233). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 139,560 as a first name in 2020; 356 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Lydia’s family of names
In Cebuano usage, Lydia has a diminutive in Jaja. Lydia shares a linguistic root with Lidia. In English usage, Lydia has a conventional equivalent in the Hawaiian form Lilia.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Lydia has relatives in 23 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.
Ancient Greekwhere Lydia comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 13
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Lidiavariant · Polish, Italian
- Lydievariant · French
- Lydavariant
- Lyddialikely variant
- Jajadiminutive · ceb
- Liddypet form · English
- Lydeavariant
- Lidijavariant · Latvian, Slovene
Show 5 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 22
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 3
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Lydia
- Liliʻuokalanimonarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom (1838–1917)
- Lydia KoidulaEstonian poet (1843-1886)
- Lydia DavisAmerican writer (born 1947)
- Lydia Maria ChildAmerican abolitionist, author and women's rights activist (1802-1880)
- Lydia of Thyatira1st‑century Lydian merchant of purple cloth, Christian saint, early European convert to Christianity mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles100–100
- Lydia CachoMexican journalistborn 1963
- Lydia BeckerBritish activist, botanist and astronomist (1827-1890)
- Lydia ForsonGhanaian actress, writer and producerborn 1984
- Lydia LunchAmerican singer, author and actressborn 1959
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Lydia, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Julia
“one who is youthful; daughter of the sky”
>99% girls
Penelope
“duck”
>99% girls
Sophia
“wisdom”
>99% girls
Chloe
“a flourishing woman; blooming”
>99% girls
Cassia
“one who is empty; hollow; vain”
>99% girls
Iris
“rainbow”
>99% girls
Lila
“born at night” · “resembling a lily”
>99% girls
Calista
“the most beautiful”
>99% girls