Lydia
A Greek name meaning "woman from Lydia," an old region of Asia Minor. It stays rare in Poland: only about 350 women carry it, so most Poles have never met one, and the handful of girls given it each year keeps it quietly alive.
Lydia Pronunciation
Lydia is pronounced LIHD-yah (/ˈlɨdja/).
What Lydia means
Where Lydia comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Lydia comes from Greek, and it began as a place before it was a person. Lydia was a kingdom in western Asia Minor, and the name simply meant a woman from there. The English gloss keeps this literal: from Lydia, the region. In Polish the meaning is put plainly as kobieta z Lidii.
The best known bearer arrives early. In the Acts of the Apostles, Lydia is a dealer in purple cloth from Thyatira who meets Paul at Philippi and becomes, by that account, the first Christian convert in Europe. Her trade tied her to the same corner of the map that gave the name its sound.
On a Polish class register the form is Lidia, and her imieniny fall on the third of August. The name asks nothing of its holder beyond its own small fact: a woman from Lydia.
How many people are named Lydia
1 in 64411 women in Poland is named Lydia. 350 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #1605 among female names.
Lydia's popularity over time
2 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #1686 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2024. Still the #1605 name among living women, even as it slips to #1686 among newborns.
Lydia as a middle name
Lydia is a first name for 350 women in Poland and a middle name for another 91, a 79/21 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 702nd, between Ina (91) and Maksymiliana (91).
-
#700 Diane91
-
#701 Ina91
-
#702 Lydia91
-
#703 Maksymiliana91
-
#704 Devi90