The original name given the settlement in 1916 was “Need”, but U.S. postal authorities said that it sounded much like “
Weed” in
Otero County, so in 1918 the name was changed to "Lingo". The community
post office was originally located three miles south of the current location on
New Mexico State Road 114, seven miles south of
Causey and five miles from the
Texas border. An early authority on New Mexico
place names states the name was derived from the Southwestern
colloquial term "
lingo" (from
Latin lingua tongue), but a later authority states that the name more likely resulted from a
family name. ==References==