Lincoln is a boy’s habitational name that originated in England. It was originally a surname, used to designate people from Lincoln, a cathedral city in the East Midlands of the country. Lincoln means “lake/pool colony” and is sometimes interpreted as “town by the pool” or “settler by the lake.” In America, the name is more often associated with Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States during the turbulent period of the Civil War and signer of the Emancipation Proclamation. For this reason, it has grown in popularity as a male given name since the mid-19th century.