Lindsay (name)

Lindsay
13th- to 14th-century coat of arms of the de Lindsay Lords of Crawford.
Current region	England
Earlier spellings	de Lindsay, Lyndsay
Place of origin	England

Lindsay is an English surname, originally derived 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.

Surname

The surname is ultimately connected to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Lindsey.

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 century) 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:

• David Lyndsay (poet), also spelled Lindsay, renaissance poet in the court of James V of Scotland
• James Alexander Lindsay (1815–1874), British Conservative Member of Parliament for Wigan, second son of James Lindsay, 24th Earl of Crawford
• Reverend Thomas Martin Lindsay (1843–1914)
• Robert Lindsay
• Ronald Lindsay (1877–1945), Former UK Ambassador to the United States, fifth son of James Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford
• Sandie Lindsay, 1st Baron Lindsay of Birker (1879–1952), Master of Balliol College, Oxford, son of Thomas Martin Lindsay
• Sir Harry Lindsay (1881-1963), British civil servant and administrator
• Duncan Morton Lindsay, Scottish football player (1902-1972)
• Sir Martin Lindsay, 1st Baronet, British politician and explorer (1905–1981)
• James Lindsay (Conservative politician) (1906–1997)
• Patrick Lindsay (politician), Second Minister for the Gaeltacht (1914– 1993)

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]

• Vachel Lindsay, American poet (1879–1931)
• John Lindsay, American politician (1921–2000)
• Ted Lindsay, American former professional ice hockey player (b. 1925)
• Reg Lindsay, Australian country and western singer (1929–2008)
• Mark Lindsay, American pop singer (b. 1942)
• Jeff Lindsay (writer), American fiction writer (b. 1952)
• Arto Lindsay, American musician (b. 1953)
• Ryan Lindsay (ice hockey), Canadian former professional ice hockey player (b. 1976)
• Chike Lindsay, American kickboxer (b. 1983)
• Germaine Lindsay, Jamaican-born British Islamist terrorist (1985–2005)
• Kellyn Lindsay, American actress, model and martial artist (b. 1986)

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

Look up Lindsay in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Male

• Lindsay Rogers (1891-1970), Burgess Professor of Public Law, Columbia University (1920–1959); Director, Social Science Research Council (1934–36)
• Lindsay Weir (1908–2003), New Zealand cricketer
• Lindsay Brown (1911–1987), American baseball player
• Lindsay Hassett (1913–1993), Australian Test cricketer
• Lindsay Tuckett (born 1919), South African cricketer
• Lindsay Anderson (1923–1994), India-born English film director
• Lindsay Kline (born 1934), Australian Test cricketer
• Lindsay Gaze (born 1936), Australian basketball player and coach
• Lindsay Hoyle (born 1957), Labour Member of Parliament for Chorley (England)
• Lindsay Dawson (born 1959), American artist
• Lindsay Hamilton (born 1962), Scottish footballer
• Lindsay Knapp (born 1970), Football player
• Lindsay Kemp (born 1938), British dancer, actor, teacher, mime artist and choreographer
• Lindsay Scott (born 1960), American football player
• Lindsay Tait (born 1982), New Zealand basketball player
• Lindsey Buckingham (born 1949), American musician

Female

• Lindsay Wagner, American actress (b. 1949)
• Lindsay Cooper, English musician and political activist (1951–2013)
• Lindsay Armstrong, South-African born Australian writer (b. before 1970)

1970s

• Lindsay Davenport, American tennis player (b. 1976)
• Lindsay Price, American actress and singer (b. 1976)
• Lindsay Lee-Waters, American tennis player (b. 1977)
• Lindsay Sloane, American actress (b. 1977)
• Lindsay Hartley, American actress (b. 1978)

1980s

• Lindsay Taylor, former WNBA player (b. 1981)
• Lindsay Whalen, American basketball player (b. 1982)
• Lindsay Tarpley, American soccer player (b. 1983)
• Lindsay Ellingson, American fashion model (b. 1984)
• Lindsay Felton, American actress (b. 1984)
• Lindsay Hawker, British murder victim (1984-2007)
• Lindsay Lohan, American actress and singer (b. 1986)
• Lindsay Pagano, American singer (b. 1986)
• Lyndsy Fonseca, American actress (b. 1987)

Fictional characters named Lindsay

• Lindsay Monroe, a character on CSI: NY
• Lindsay Rappaport, a character on One Life to Live
• Lindsay Weir, a character on Freaks and Geeks, played by Linda Cardellini
• Lindsay Bluth Fünke, a character on Arrested Development, played by Portia de Rossi
• Lindsay, a character on Total Drama Island
• Lindsay Dole, an attorney on The Practice, played by Kelli Williams
• Lyndsay, a character in the Wii and DS games MySims Kingdom, MySims Agents and MySims SkyHeroes
• Lindsay, a character on The New Adventures of Old Christine, played by Alex Kapp Horner
• Lindsay Boxer, a character on Women's Murder Club, played by Angie Harmon
• Lindsay Marriott, a character in Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
• Lindsey McDonald, a character on Angel (TV series) played by Christian Kane

See also

• Lindsey (given name)
• Lindsey (surname)

Notes

This page or section lists people that share the same given name or the same family name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.