Lindsay (name)

Lindsay is a Scottish surname, originally denoting membership in clan Lindsay, ultimately deriving from the territory of Lindsey in Lincolnshire, from the Old English toponym Lindesege "Lindum Isle", i.e. "marshlands of Lincoln".

In the late 19th century, the surname gave rise to the given name Lindsay (and variants Lindsey, Lyndsy, etc.) in the United States, at first as a male given name, and since the mid 20th century increasingly as a female given name.[1] Its popularity as a girls' name is due to the actress Lindsay Wagner (born 1949 as Lindsay Jean Wagner), who became famous in 1976 as The Bionic Woman. It was the 314th most popular name for girls born in the United States in 2007, having ranked among the top 200 names for girls from the 1970s through the 1990s. The alternative spelling Lindsey ranked as the 226th most popular name for girls born in 2007 in the United States.

Contents

Surname

Scotland

Main article: Clan Lindsay
Lindsay

13th to 14th century coat of arms of the de Lindsay lords of Crawford, evidently based on the undiffered arms of the House of Stewart, today sometimes used as Lindsay "family coat of arms"
Current region Anglosphere
Information
Earlier spellings de Lindsay, Lyndsay
Place of origin Scotland

The Scottish Clan Lindsay is probably ultimately connected to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Lindsey, possibly via Sir Walter Lindsay who in 1120 was a member of the council of David, Earl of Huntingdon who became King of Scotland. David de Lindsay in the early 13th century was Justiciar of Lothian.

The modern surname arises from the Scottish clan name. The title of Earl of Lindsay in the Peerage of Scotland was created in 1633, while Earl of Lindsey is a title in the Peerage of England created 1626. Clan leaders before the creation of the title include:

The surname of Lindsay continued to be borne by the Earls of Balcarres and Earls of Crawford, down to the current holder of the title, Robert Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford (b. 1927), while the Earls of Lindsay have used the additional surname of Lindesay since its adoption by Reginald Lindesay-Bethune, 12th Earl of Lindsay in 1919.

The names of John de Lindsay (d. 1335), Ingram Lindsay (15th c.) David Lyndsay (c. 1490 – c. 1555)and Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie (1532–1580) are early examples of the name being used as "surname" by members of lower nobility in Scotland. Lindsay was used in the United Kingdom by younger sons of the Lindsay clan chiefs, acquiring the status of common surname in the course of the 19th century:

Ireland

The surname Lindsay is also found in Northern Ireland. Irish people called Lindsay are either descended from members of the Scottish clan Lindsay who migrated to Ireland, or alternatively of the Gaelic O'Loinsigh sept, who sometimes anglicized their name as Lindsay, even though more common anglicizations were Lynch or Linchey. In addition, the MacClintock (MacIlliuntaig) family anglicized their name as Lindsay in the 17th century.

Americas and Oceania

At the same time, Scottish emigrants to America or Australia tended to adopt their clan's name as surname; as a Scottish American surname, Lindsay is introduced by the late 18th century, with the immigration of on Anthony Lindsay from Scotland.[2]

The boy's given name Lindsay appears to arise from the Scottish surname in the early 20th century in North America and Australia / New Zealand, also given to girls by the mid-20th century, and rising to popularity in the 1970s.

Given name

Lindsay
Gender both male and female
Origin
Word/Name English/Scottish
Meaning clan name; toponym
Other names
Related names Lindsey, Linsay, Linsey, Lyndsay, Lyndsey, Lynsey, Lynsay, Linzey, Lynzi, Lynzie, Lynsi, Linzie, Linzi, Lindsy, Lyndsy, Lynnsey

Male

Female

1970s
1980s
1990s

Fictional characters named Lindsay

Notes

  1. ^ Behind the Name
  2. ^ "For over a hundred years, there have been many disputes concerning the originating founder of the Lindsay family in America. Most of these stories originated with the Lindsay Family Association of America. During its twenty years of existence, several reports were issued. [...] Margaret Isabelle Lindsay, author of 'The Lindsaysof America' [...] wrote, 'Having been furnished with two or three records of this family, in justice to those who kindly sent each to me, I insert them all.'" The conflicting accounts make the Anthony "the Immigrant" Lindsay either "a wealthy Scotch sea captain" who arrived about 1784, or one of three Scottish brothers who landed in Charleston, South Carolina. Five men called Linsey are recorded as heads of families in the 1790 Federal Census of Prince Georges County. ancestry.com, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000. Josephine Lindsay Bass and Becky Bonner