| Linda | Anita | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Pretty | grace, favour |
| Origin | spanish | spanish |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | LIN-duh | uh-NEE-tuh |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 0 | 0 |
| Peak year | 1947 (99,692) | 1957 (5,811) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Vintage | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Linda | Anita |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 1,956 | 929 |
| 2010s | 4,386 | 1,695 |
| 2000s | 7,220 | 2,471 |
| 1990s | 12,815 | 4,571 |
| 1980s | 22,819 | 8,594 |
| 1970s | 45,900 | 18,834 |
| 1960s | 225,454 | 44,416 |
| 1950s | 564,364 | 47,588 |
| 1940s | 531,660 | 32,531 |
| 1930s | 29,358 | 22,224 |
| 1920s | 4,455 | 18,052 |
| 1910s | 2,395 | 9,555 |
| 1900s | 996 | 2,149 |
| 1890s | 872 | 1,191 |
| 1880s | 493 | 365 |
In Spanish and Portuguese linda means 'pretty, beautiful' (from Latin/Romance). NOTE: the name also has an independent Germanic source, the element lind 'soft, tender' (as in names like Rosalind); so 'pretty' is the Romance reading, 'soft/tender' the Germanic one.
A Spanish and Portuguese diminutive of Ana, ultimately from Hebrew 'Channah' (Hannah) meaning grace or favour.
Linda and Anita are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Linda means Pretty (spanish origin), while Anita means grace, favour (spanish origin).
In US records, Linda first appears in 0 and Anita in 0, so Linda has the longer recorded history.