Linda Martin

(female) Of relatively recent origin and uncertain etymology. It is first recorded in the 19th century. It may be a shortened form of Belinda, an adoption of Spanish linda ‘pretty’, or a Latinate derivative of any of various other Germanic female names ending in -lind meaning ‘weak, tender, soft’. It was popular in the 20th century, especially in the 1950s.

English, Scottish, Irish, French, Dutch, German, Czech, Slovak, Spanish (Martín), Italian (Venice), etc.: from a personal name (Latin Martinus, a derivative of Mars, genitive Martis, the Roman god of fertility and war, whose name may derive ultimately from a root mar ‘gleam’). This was borne by a famous 4th-century saint, Martin of Tours, and consequently became extremely popular throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. As a North American surname, this form has absorbed many cognates from other European forms.