Lin

Did you know?

A few things about Lin you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Lin

Lin Shaye

American actress

Choose Lin and your child shares a first name with Lin Shaye, an American actress. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Lin, like who?” Lin Shaye's Wikipedia article is available in 32 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Lin Shaye on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 227,273 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Lin, 7 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Lin would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryLin first shows up in US birth records in 1898, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 127 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1952, when it ranked #1,641. Today it's #11,932, so it could be due a comeback.
• 🍂TrendLin has slipped 842 places over the last five years and now sits at #11,932. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.

About the name Lin

Lin is a girl name of Chinese, English and Latin origin. It has 3 letters and 1 syllable, starting with L and ending in “-lin”. US birth records list Lin for girls from 1917 to 2025, in 87 of those 109 years. Its best year was 1952, when it ranked #1,641 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #11,932, with 7 babies.

Origin:Chinese namesEnglish namesLatin namesScandinavian names