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.

# 97 in the US

Lydia Rank in US Top 1000

# 84 on Nameberry

Lydia Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Lydia Popularity

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

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"