Lind
Usually a surname from a linden or lime tree, with some Scottish local associations as well.
The #2,416 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 20,597 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Lind is most commonly explained as a surname tied to the linden or lime tree. In English and Scottish records, it appears in forms such as De la Lynde, literally meaning 'at the linden tree' or 'of the lime tree.' The name also has a Scots sense linked with the lime tree, and related forms occur across several Germanic languages.
History
Lower notes that in Scotland Lind was associated with lands and barony names such as Lyune in Ayrshire, while in England the surname is found in the 14th century in forms like De la Lynde. Because it can arise either from a place-name or from a tree-name, the surname may have independent origins in different families. Related continental forms and spellings helped the name spread in several regions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is cognate with the French place-word Tilleul, which also means 'lime tree.'
From the historical record
“LINCOLN. The city. LIND. The name of Lynne was assumed by the proprietors of the lands and barony of Lyune, in Ayrshire, as soon as surnames became hereditary in Scotland. B.L.G. Lind is Scotch for a lime tree. Jamieson. In England the name occm-s in the XIV. century, as De la Lynde — " of the Linden, or lime…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Lind
- Jenny Lind (1820–1887)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.