Flint Name Meaning, Origins & History

Flint

Pronunciation: FLINT

Meaning Rock from the stream Origin Old English Gender Boy
BOYS RANK
#2,293
TREND
323

Rank shows the name’s position among U.S. baby names for each gender in 2025. Trend shows how many places it rose or fell since 2024. Rank 1 is the most popular. Based on U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) data. Peak and lowest years are based on the number of boys named Flint in the available records.

Fun Facts About the Name Flint

  • More than 2 thousand babies named Flint: U.S. records list 2,600 babies given the name Flint from 1880 through 2025.

What Does the Name Flint Mean?

Flint is an English name meaning 'flint,' a hard spark-producing stone. It comes from the Old English word flint, which named the stone. The same word became a surname in England and Wales.

As a surname, Flint has more than one possible origin. It may be a topographic name for someone who lived near a flint stone or on flinty ground. It may also be a habitational name from Flint in Wales, a town whose name is generally taken from the English word. Because the same surname could arise in different places, the exact origin of any one Flint family is often uncertain.

The given name Flint is a transferred use of the surname or a direct use of the stone word. Its literal meaning is the stone itself. Interpretations that link the name to durability, a spark, or fire are symbolic associations, not the etymological meaning.

Flint Name History & Origins

The English word flint is recorded in Old English and named the hard stone used for tools, blades, and fire-starting. The surname Flint is found in England and Wales. It arose in more than one way: some bearers took it from where they lived, near a notable flint or on flinty land, while others took it from the town of Flint in northeast Wales. The town grew around a castle built by Edward I in 1277, and its Welsh name, Y Fflint, is a borrowing of the English word. The town's name is sometimes explained as referring to flinty ground or a flinty crossing of the River Dee, but the precise reason is not certain.

As a given name, Flint is a transferred use of the surname or a direct word name. It is uncommon and appears mainly in English-speaking countries. A famous literary use of Flint as a surname is Captain Flint in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island (1883). That character's name is a surname, so it is separate from the given name's origin and early use.

How Popular is the Name Flint?

Flint recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1959. Its best rank was #764 in 1959.

U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.

Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.

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How the Name Flint Shapes Your Personality and Life?

You are kind, home-loving, hospitable and friendly. Since you take responsibility well, you are a good organizer of social affairs. Compassion for others is an outstanding trait. You are a great lover and a great flirt – an artist, musician, actor, teacher, nurse. Your character can be contradictory. You are practical, yet idealistic and intuitive; capable of selfless devotion to someone you love, yet look to receive payback. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.

You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.

✦ Flint's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Flint's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.
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