Belinda

Where Belinda comes from

From Belle + -inda, base from various Romance sources such as French belle, Italian bella (“beautiful”), suffix Latinate form of German linde (“soft”) (English linden, lithe). Popularised by Alexander Pope in his poem The Rape of the Lock (1714). The moon is named after a character in Pope's poem.
— Wiktionary's entry for Belinda
  • 3 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1889
    First appearance
    #1,279 among girls, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1958
    Belinda Carlisle born
    American singer
  3. 1961
    Peak, #141
    3,120 babies named Belinda — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1972
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #188.
  5. 1997
    Belinda Bencic born
    Swiss tennis player
In the dictionary
  • A female given name originating as a coinage.
Namesakes
  • Belinda Carlisle · American singer, born 1958
  • Belinda Bencic · Swiss tennis player, born 1997
  • Belinda Lee · English actress, 1935–1961
  • Belinda Snell · Australian basketball player, born 1981
  • Belinda Effah · Nigerian actress and presenter, born 1989

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.