# Lin (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/lin/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 79,508 |
| US rank (2010) | 402 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 3,883 people |
| Change since 2000 | +61% (49,360 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈlɪn/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | Lim, Lam, Lem, Ling, Lang, Leng, Lan, Len, Nin, Rim |

## 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”.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Lin in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 1.7% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 0.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 96% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.0% |
| Two or more races | 1.8% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Lin in the United States, the People's Republic of China and Taiwan.

## People named Lin

- Maya Lin, American sculptor and architect (born 1959)
- Lin Sang, archer
- Lin Shih-Chia, archer
- Tao Lin, American novelist (1983-)
- Lin Peng, actress
- Grace Lin, author and illustrator

## Similar surnames

Linn, Lien, Lino, Laine, Line, Lian, Lain, Lein, Linne, Lim, Lwin, Lane.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.