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Linville
How to Pronounce Linville
Pronounced LIN-vil /ˈlɪn.vɪl/Medium
Meaning: Linville began as an English surname and American place name, combining a Lin element with the French -ville meaning town or settlement, and was later adopted as a given name in the Southern habit of turning surnames into first names.Low
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Linville reflects the American South's fondness for handing down family surnames as first names. Built from a Lin root and the French -ville, town, it entered given-name use as a way of honoring kin and locale together.
It never caught on broadly, given to only about twenty boys a year even at its height, and faded through the later twentieth century. A man named Linville from its peak years would be in his eighties today. The name still reads as distinctly rural and Southern.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Linville mean?
It is a surname and place name used as a given name, from a Lin element plus the French -ville meaning town.
How do you pronounce Linville?
It is said LIN-vil /ˈlɪn.vɪl/, two syllables with the stress on the first.
Is Linville a boy or girl name?
Linville is recorded here as a boy's name.
How popular is Linville?
It has always been very rare, given to only about twenty boys a year at its peak in the nineteen-forties.