Lindsay is a Scottish surname taken from Lindsey in Lincolnshire, an Old English place name meaning "Lincoln's island" or "wetland of Lincoln". It was a boys' name until the mid-20th century and then became a classic American girls' name of the 1980s and 1990s. Lindsay ranked 179 in the United States in 2000 but has fallen steadily since, leaving the top 1000 after 2015 and standing at number 2208 in 2025 with 84 births.