Lydia

Greek

"woman from Lydia"

Lydia Origin and Meaning

The name Lydia is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "woman from Lydia".

Lydia is one of the first place names, after an area of Asia Minor whose inhabitants are credited with strong musical talent great wealth. Always among the US Top 1000 girl names, Lydia is a quietly fashionable classic.

Although mentioned in the New Testament (Lydia was the first European convert of Saint Paul), it didn't really emerge as a viable first name until the eighteenth century, promoted via the character of Lydia Languish in Sheridan's popular 1775 play The Rivals, and the youngest of the Bennett girls in Pride and Prejudice.

Lydia continued to be a literary favorite, found in the novels of George Eliot and D. H. Lawrence. And there's also the iconic Groucho Marx ditty: "Lydia the Tattooed Lady."

Lydia is increasingly appreciated for its history and haunting quality. Cute nickname: Liddy or Lydie.

Lydia Rank in US Top 1000

# 97 in the US

Lydia Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 69 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Lydia

• 97 US 2023
• 69 Nameberry 2025
• 124 Canada 2023
• 76 Future 2028
• 159 England 2023
• 97 New Zealand 2015
• 303 Germany 2016

20 Names Similar to Lydia

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Lydia.

• Vivian
• Cecilia
• Juliet
• Lillian
• Felicity
• Celia
• Emmarose
• Rosalie
• Fiona
• Madeleine
• Vivienne
• Emmeline
• Delene
• Eliza
• Audrey
• Naomi
• Genevieve
• Elise
• Frigyes
• Madeline

Famous People Named Lydia

• Lydia Huallas Bolivian mountaineer
• Lydia of Thyatira first European convert to Christianity
• Lydia Cornell American actress
• Lydia Night lead singer of rock band The Regrettes
• Lydia Marie Hearst Shaw, American actress, model, and heiress
• Lydia Estes Pinkham American entrepreneur
• Lydia Jackson birth name of Lidian Emerson, wife of Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Lydia Millet American novelist
• Lydia Field Emmet American painter
• Lydia Dmitrievna Gromyko wife of Soviet leader Andrey Gromyko
• Lydia Maria Frances Child American abolitionist and feminist
• Lydia Taft first woman to legally vote in the U.S.
• Lydia Lassila Australian Olympic freestyle skier
• Lydia Davis American novelist
• Lydia Gibson American illustrator
• Lydia Shackleton Irish botanical artist
• Lydia Welti Escher, Swiss arts patron
• Lydia Marie Mackay American actress
• Lydia Shum Hong Kong comedienne
• Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch) American musician
• Lydia Schenardi French MEP
• Lydia Grace Yilkari Williams Australian soccer player
• Lydia Campbell daughter of actor Larry Joe Campbell

The name Lydia in Pop Culture

• Lydia a housecarl of Whiterun and follower/companion in the video game Skyrim by Bethesda.
• Countess Lydia Ivanovna character in Leo Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina"
• Lydia Macmillan main character in 1941 movie "Lydia"
• Lydia Deetz character in movie "Beetlejuice"
• Lydia Bennet character in Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice
• Lydia McBride Steed character in Gerald N. Lund's The Work and the Glory
• Lydia Martin character on TV's "Teen Wolf"
• Lydia Branwell Character on Freeform's 'Shadowhunters'
• Lydia Parkington mother of American Girl character Samantha; Samantha's doll's name
• Lydia Hart character on British soap "Hollyoaks"
• Lydia Goldblatt character in "The Popularity Papers"
• Lydia Hillard eldest daughter in movie "Mrs Doubtfire"
• Lydia Rodarte Quayle, character on TV's 'Breaking Bad'
• Lydia Bob Scott daugther to Nathan and Haley on TV's "One Tree Hill"
• Lydia Constantine character on TV's "American Gothic"
• Lydia villain in animated film "Barbie; the Diamond Castle"
• Lydia Amelia Pierce main character in the Dear America book "Like the Willow Tree
• Lydia Pieman character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
• Lydia Copperbottom character in the movie "Robots"
• Lydia Hall character on ABC's "Quantico"
• "Lydia the Tattooed Lady" popular song by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg
• "Lydia" song by Highly Suspect
• Lydia Boyle character in video game "Dishonored"
• Lydia Frye character in video game"Assassin's Creed Syndicate"
• Lydia Riera character in Netflix's original series "One Day at a Time"
• Lydia Lee character in Celeste Ng's "Everything I Never Told You"
• Aunt Lydia character in the book and TV series "The Handmaid's tale"

International Variations of the name Lydia

• Lidija Russian
• Lida Russian
• Lydie Russian
• Lidiya Russian
• Lidia Russian