Lincoln

Where Lincoln comes from

Inherited from Middle English Lincolne, from Old English Lincolle, Lindcolen, Lindcylene, from Latin Lindum Colōnia (“the Roman settlement Lindum Colonia”), from Proto-Brythonic *llɨnn (“pool”), from Proto-Celtic *lindos (“lake, liquid”), in reference to the Brayford. In the United States, many of the places established since 1865 are named after Abraham Lincoln.
— Wiktionary's entry for Lincoln
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1880
    Lincoln Ellsworth born
    American explorer
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #600 among boys — 10 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1953
    Lincoln Chafee born
    American politician and former United States Senator from Rhode Island
  4. 2020
    Peak, #40
    7,061 babies named Lincoln — more than any year before or since.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name transferred from the surname, of American usage, originally in honor of Abraham Lincoln.
Namesakes
  • Lincoln Ellsworth · American explorer, 1880–1951
  • Lincoln Chafee · American politician and former United States Senator from Rhode Island, born 1953
  • Lincoln · Brazilian footballer, born 1979
  • Lincoln Steffens · American journalist, 1866–1936
  • Lincoln Díaz-Balart · American politician, 1954–2025

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.