Meaning and history
Linus comes from the Greek name Λίνος (Linos), derived from λίνον (linon), meaning “flax.” In Greek legend, Linos was a son of Apollo who was accidentally killed by him in a contest, and another son of Apollo with the same name was said to have been Heracles’ music teacher. The name was also borne by the second pope, who succeeded Saint Peter in the 1st century, and in modern times it appeared as a character in Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip.
20062006: 66 births, rank #2,010
2007: 91 births, rank #1,669
2008: 113 births, rank #1,452
2009: 111 births, rank #1,497
2010: 117 births, rank #1,415
20112011: 126 births, rank #1,344
2012: 141 births, rank #1,249
2013: 130 births, rank #1,321
2014: 163 births, rank #1,158
2015: 163 births, rank #1,152
20162016: 131 births, rank #1,356
2017: 166 births, rank #1,141
2018: 147 births, rank #1,255
2019: 112 births, rank #1,515
2020: 124 births, rank #1,398
20212021: 113 births, rank #1,546
2022: 126 births, rank #1,440
2023: 114 births, rank #1,539
2024: 129 births, rank #1,423
20252025: 82 births, rank #1,906
Linus moved from #847 to #958 for boys between 1926 and 1940. Its highest annual birth count came in 1921, with 62 births.