Lin: meaning “resembling jade; from the woodland”, origin & popularity

Meaning & origin

What it means

One Chinese interpretation is “resembling jade; from the woodland.”

Where it comes from

An origin associated with this spelling is Chinese.

How it developed

From Mandarin 林, from Gan 林, from Wu 林, from Xiang 林.

Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1898. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Lin through the years

Babies since 1880: 1,897; 863 boys · 1,034 girls
Most popular year: 1959; 59 babies
2025: 7; #12,636 for girls
2021–25 vs 2016–20: +33%; Rising

Boys Girls

Lin in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1898–2025, per million births of each sex. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

By the numbers

In 2025, this name appeared in 7 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 12,636 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 12.5% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 10,717 as a first name in 2020; 116,776 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.

Lin’s family of names

In English usage, Lin as a surname shares an earlier linguistic root with Lam. In German usage, Lin has a related form in Lynn. In French usage, Lin has a conventional equivalent in the Italian form Lino.

Walk Lin’s family in the name graph

Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Around the world

Lin has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its Chinese roots to each of them.

18 related names in 5 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.

Each dot marks where a language is rooted, not where people with the name live today. Bigger dots hold more names. Language locations from Glottolog (CC BY 4.0); map from Natural Earth.

Nicknames & forms 15

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

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Spellings & scripts 4

The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.

Across languages 15

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

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People named Lin

Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.

Similar names

If you love Lin, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Vietnamese · Shared

Sibling ideas

Names that share Lin’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Lin

A sister for Lin

Your shortlist

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