Lydia
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Ancient Greek. Borrowed from Ancient Greek Λυδία (Ludía, “the region of Lydia”), from λυδία (ludía, “beautiful one, noble one”), a feminine form of Λυδός (Ludós) (Lydus, from λυδός (ludós) (lydus)). The region of Lydia is said to be named for a king Λυδός (Ludós) (Lydus, from λυδός (ludós) (lydus)); the given name Lydia originally indicated ancestry or residence in the region of Lydia.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Lydia (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Lydia has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2022. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 45 |
| 1999 | 54 |
| 2000 | 51 |
| 2001 | 46 |
| 2002 | 36 |
| 2003 | 43 |
| 2004 | 36 |
| 2005 | 34 |
| 2006 | 52 |
| 2007 | 50 |
| 2008 | 31 |
| 2009 | 36 |
| 2010 | 33 |
| 2011 | 36 |
| 2012 | 40 |
| 2013 | 53 |
| 2014 | 44 |
| 2015 | 45 |
| 2016 | 49 |
| 2017 | 48 |
| 2018 | 46 |
| 2019 | 47 |
| 2020 | 48 |
| 2021 | 52 |
| 2022 | 59 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 1,197 |
| 2000 | 1,204 |
| 2001 | 1,221 |
| 2002 | 1,231 |
| 2003 | 1,245 |
| 2004 | 1,254 |
| 2005 | 1,255 |
| 2006 | 1,279 |
| 2007 | 1,301 |
| 2008 | 1,325 |
| 2009 | 1,346 |
| 2010 | 1,368 |
| 2011 | 1,398 |
| 2012 | 1,432 |
| 2013 | 1,464 |
| 2014 | 1,513 |
| 2015 | 1,561 |
| 2016 | 1,619 |
| 2017 | 1,667 |
| 2018 | 1,703 |
| 2019 | 1,746 |
| 2020 | 1,798 |
Lydia in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Lydia.Hi! My name is Lydia.
- Lydia har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Lydia has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Jag ska fika med Lydia i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Lydia this afternoon.
- Lydias mamma är lärare.Lydia's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Lydias mamma is Lydia's mum.
More names
Questions about Lydia
How do you pronounce Lydia in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Lydia from a native speaker's recording.
What does the name Lydia mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Ancient Greek. Borrowed from Ancient Greek Λυδία (Ludía, “the region of Lydia”), from λυδία (ludía, “beautiful one, noble one”), a feminine form of Λυδός (Ludós) (Lydus, from λυδός (ludós) (lydus)). The region of Lydia is said to be named for a king Λυδός (Ludós) (Lydus, from λυδός (ludós) (lydus)); the given name Lydia originally indicated ancestry or residence in the region of Lydia.
How popular is Lydia in Sweden?
59 babies were named Lydia in 2022. In 2020, 1,798 people in Sweden had Lydia as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2022 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.