# Lin (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/lin/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys and girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “wood”, “tree”, “forest” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈlɪn/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Lim, Lam, Lem, Ling, Lang, Leng, Lan, Len, Nin, Rim, Im, Rin |
| US babies named this | 1,897 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 863 / 1,034 (55% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 75, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Chinese: compare Mandarin 林 (lín), Gan 林 (lin⁴), Wu 林, Xiang 林 (lin²). 林 itself is composed of a reduplication of 木 (“wood, tree”). Literally, “forest”.

## What it means

Lin is grouped under forest.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 5 | 18,420 |
| 2012 | 10 | 10,932 |
| 2013 | 7 | 14,038 |
| 2014 | 12 | 9,306 |
| 2015 | 6 | 15,624 |
| 2016 | 9 | 11,411 |
| 2017 | 5 | 17,369 |
| 2018 | 5 | 17,121 |
| 2019 | 13 | 8,415 |
| 2020 | 8 | 11,696 |
| 2021 | 7 | 12,955 |
| 2022 | 10 | 10,112 |
| 2023 | 5 | 16,605 |
| 2024 | 6 | 14,522 |
| 2025 | 7 | 12,636 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 6 | 10,812 |
| 2006 | 6 | 11,498 |
| 2008 | 8 | 9,525 |
| 2009 | 6 | 11,891 |
| 2010 | 9 | 8,529 |
| 2011 | 8 | 9,279 |
| 2012 | 5 | 13,443 |
| 2013 | 7 | 10,310 |
| 2014 | 5 | 13,272 |
| 2015 | 6 | 11,560 |
| 2016 | 5 | 13,424 |
| 2021 | 6 | 11,590 |
| 2022 | 5 | 13,553 |
| 2023 | 9 | 8,648 |
| 2024 | 5 | 13,453 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 3 | 4,798 |
| 2006 | 3 | 5,061 |
| 2007 | 5 | 3,667 |
| 2008 | 4 | 4,524 |
| 2009 | 3 | 5,556 |
| 2010 | 3 | 5,707 |
| 2011 | 6 | 3,549 |
| 2012 | 3 | 5,876 |
| 2016 | 4 | 4,763 |
| 2017 | 3 | 5,765 |
| 2018 | 4 | 4,684 |
| 2021 | 3 | 5,581 |
| 2022 | 3 | 5,669 |
| 2024 | 6 | 3,695 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5,927 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 4 | 3,208 |
| 2007 | 4 | 3,589 |
| 2008 | 5 | 3,158 |
| 2010 | 3 | 4,678 |
| 2016 | 3 | 4,810 |

## People named Lin

- Lin Shaye, American actress
- Gao Lin, Chinese footballer
- Lin Carter, American fantasy writer, editor, critic (1930–1988)
- Wang Lin, Chinese badminton player
- Zhu Lin, Chinese badminton player
- L. Lin Wood, American lawyer and conspiracy theorist
- Ma Lin, Chinese artist (1180-1256)
- Lin Dunn, American basketball coach
- Lin Huiqing, Chinese table tennis player
- Lee Lin Chin, Australian journalist
- Chen Lin, Chinese badminton player

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.