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Lin

#12,632 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Lin has been given to 1,897 babies in the U.S. since 1917. In 2025 it ranked #12,632 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 1952, with 35 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 55% girls, 45% boys all-time.

Babies named Lin, 2025

1 in 474,000

Lin over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
01020304018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Lin over time

In 2025, Lin went to 100% girls and 0% boys.

18982025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Lin: meaning, origin, and history

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Lin means

Lin has more than one naming route in the cited origin entries: distinct naming traditions.

The naming story behind Lin

One of the source’s documented entries for Lin records a meaning of forest or fine jade, gem.

Origin, language, and formation

Lin is used in English.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Lin is pronounced /ˈlɪn/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,034 girls were recorded with the name Lin between 1917 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 35 in 1952; its best national rank was #1,666 in 1952.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #11,691 in 2020 to #12,632 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #15,619 in 2015 to #12,632 in 2025.

In the United States, 863 boys were recorded with the name Lin between 1898 and 2024. Its highest annual count was 28 in 1959; its best national rank was #1,232 in 1898.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Lin?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 474,000
7 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 230,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#12,632
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
328,272 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Lin sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 328,272 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Lin. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Lins were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Lin was born before 1963 — so the typical Lin is around 62 today.

Median birth year
1963
About 62 years old
Biggest decade
1950s
26.0% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
21.9%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
873
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1950s — 26.0% of all recorded uses (269).

Is Lin rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+1,885
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
−941
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
+2,987
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.17×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
20.0%
Peak was 1952 (35)
Years since peak
73
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
48.2% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,666
1952

Where Lin is used

Across 1910–2025, Lin was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — girls, against 1 in 291,012 across all states with data. It was least common in New York (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2New York1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Lin has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Lin around the world

Where Lin ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2005–2025
    #5,927
    in 2025
  • France
    1920–2020
    #6,452
    in 2020
  • Norway
    1880–2025
    #491
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2001–2021
    #2,930
    in 2021
  • South Australia
    1986–2009
    #818
    in 2009

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Norway, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. SSB, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Lin by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#12,632
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 941
Best rank ever
#1,666
1952
Peak year
1952
35 that year
First recorded
1917
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,034
Count in 2025
7

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#1,232
1898
Peak year
1959
28 that year
First recorded
1898
Last recorded
2024
All-time count
863
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Lin

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

LinhLinzyLindiLinnAlinLinleyLinsySelinAilinLindenLinnaMalinArlinKylinLindleyLincyLindieLindeeRylinLinziYailinElinSkylinLinde

Sibling names for Lin

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Lin

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