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Linux

LIN-uhks /ˈlɪn.əks/

At a glance

U.S. rank 2025
Not in the 2025 data · last seen 2024 (#9,894)
Babies in 2024
7 (<0.01% of boys)
Peak
#7,738 in 2023
First recorded
2012

Meaning of Linux

Linux, pronounced LIN-uhks (/ˈlɪn.əks/), unfolds like an unexpected sonnet etched upon the digital horizon—a name at once solid and whisper-soft. Its origin is modern yet poetic: in 1991 Linus Torvalds—with a wink and a spark of rebellion—married his own name to Unix, gifting the world an open-source kernel that would hum beneath countless machines. Beneath those sleek syllables lies the warmth of una famiglia mondiale di spiriti curiosi, a global clan of dreamers and tinkerers united by the gentle thrill of discovery. Though seldom found in traditional registries, Linux carries a lighthearted defiance, as if inviting its bearer to craft new worlds with the same friendly bravado that kindled its birth. To name a child Linux is to bestow upon him the mantle of innovator and steward of possibility, one who walks the ancient stone alleys of Italian piazzas and the humming corridors of tomorrow with equal wonder.

How to pronounce Linux

English

Popularity of Linux in the U.S.

Linux was last recorded in the U.S. in 2024, ranked #9,894 with 7 babies. It peaked at #7,738 in 2023. It first appears in the records in 2012.

Bar and line chart: Linux in the U.S., 2012–2024. Bars: boys given the name each year, most 10 in 2023 and 7 in 2024. Line: rank among boy names, peak #7,738 in 2023, #9,894 in 2024.
  • Boys named Linux (left scale)
  • Rank among U.S. boy names (right scale, #1 at the top)
By year, 2012–2024. Source: SSA. Download: PNG · SVG
Year-by-year table, 2012⁠–⁠2024 11 rows
Linux: babies and rank among boy names in the U.S. by year
YearBabiesRankvs previous year
202479,894▼ 2,156
2023107,738▲ 562
202298,300▼ 134
202198,166▲ 1,388
202079,554back (not recorded in 2019)
201879,670▲ 1,105
2017610,775▼ 1,959
201688,816▲ 1,828
2015610,644back (not recorded in 2014)
201388,789▲ 3,485
2012512,274new