From
A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford University Press:
"Latin form of the Greek name
Linos, which is of uncertain origin. In Greek mythology,
Linus is both a famous musician who taught music to
Hercules and an infant son of
Apollo who had been exposed to die on a mountainside in Argos. The name may have been invented to explain the obscure refrain, “
ailinon”, of the so-called “
Linus song”, a lament sung at harvest time in Argos. In the
Christian era,
Linus is the name of the second pope, St
Peter's successor, who was martyred in c.76. He has been tentatively identified with the
Linus to whom
Paul sends greetings in 2
Timothy 4: 21. The given name has occasionally been used in
America. It is now associated with a character in the extremely popular
Peanuts strip cartoon series, a little boy inseparable from his security blanket."
The Oxford Dictionary of First Names is online as part of Ancestry.com's Learning Center.
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