Given name
Lynley
“a man of the lake”·“from the flax field”·“a beautiful maiden; resembling a songbird”
Lynley is a variant of Lynn. One English interpretation is “a man of the lake.” Lynley is a variant of Linley. One English interpretation is “from the flax field.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Lynley is a variant of Lynn. One English interpretation is “a man of the lake.” Lynley is a variant of Linley. One English interpretation is “from the flax field.” Lynley is a variant of Lynette. One Welsh interpretation is “a beautiful maiden; resembling a songbird.” Its derivation is not certain.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Lynley is a variant of Lynn. An origin associated with Lynn is English. Lynley is a variant of Lynette. A possible origin is Celtic, although the derivation remains uncertain.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1962. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Lynley through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 991
- 0 boys · 991 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 46 babies
- 2025
- 22
- #5,649 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −28%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 22 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 5,649 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 28.0% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 46 in 2016. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 842 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.
Lynley’s family of names
Lynley has a related form in Lynn. Lynley has a related form in Lynette. Lynley has a related form in Linley.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Lynley
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.