Given name & surname
Chin
“one who is precious”
Chin is used as a given name and a surname. One Korean interpretation is “one who is precious.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Korean interpretation is “one who is precious.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Korean.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Chin through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 135
- 135 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1881
- 11 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 1990. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,121 as a first name in 2020; 27,823 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Chin’s family of names
In Indonesian usage, Chin as a surname shares an earlier linguistic root with Tan. In English usage, Chin has a related form in Jin. Chin has a related form in Chyn.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Chin, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Ng
Ng is a surname from Chinese, ultimately from Cantonese. It is used in English, Tagalog, and Indonesian.
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Wong
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Shin
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89% boys · 11% girls
Chung
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95% boys · 5% girls
Chul
“one who stands firm”
95% boys · 5% girls
Son
Son is a surname from Korean, ultimately from Khmer. It is used in English and Tagalog.
>99% boys
Mun
Mun is a surname from Korean, ultimately from Chinese.
>99% boys
Yon
“resembling a lotus blossom”
>99% boys