Lin is the Mandarin romanization of the Chinese surname written 林, which has many variations depending on the language and is also used in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Korea (as Im), Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia. Among Taiwanese and Chinese families from abroad, it is sometimes pronounced and spelled as Lim because many Chinese descendants are part of the Southern Min diaspora that speak Hokkien or Teochew. In Cantonese-speaking regions such as Hong Kong and Macau it is spelled as Lam or Lum. It is listed 147th on the Hundred Family Surnames. Within mainland China, it is currently the 18th most common surname. In Japan, the character 林 is also used but goes by the pronunciation Hayashi, which is the 19th most common surname in Japan.

Name origin

King Zhou of Shang (reigned 1154 to 1122 BC), the last king of the Shang dynasty, had three uncles advising him and his administration. The king's uncles were Prince Bi Gan, Prince Jizi, and Prince Weizi. Together the three princes were known as "The Three Kind-Hearted Men of Shang" in the kingdom. Prince Bi Gan was the son of King Wen Ding; he was the brother of King Zhou's father and, thus, was King Zhou's uncle, and served as the prime minister of the Kingdom of Shang. King Zhou was a cruel king, but his three uncles could not persuade him to change his ways. Failing in their duty to advise the king, Prince Weizi resigned. Prince Jizi faked insanity and was relieved of his post. Only Prince Bi Gan stayed on to continue advising the king to change his ways. "Servants who are afraid of being killed and refrain from telling the truth are not righteous" he said. This put him in danger of incurring the king's wrath. Prince Bi Gan stayed at the palace for three days and nights to try to persuade the blood-thirsty and immoral king to mend his ways. The stubborn king would not relent and had Prince Bi Gan arrested for treason. Upon hearing this, his pregnant wife escaped into the forest and went into labor there. With no one to help her, she gave birth to a boy in the rocky cave in the forest, in a place called Chang Lin (長林). Before long, King Zhou of Shang was overthrown by Ji Fa, the Count of the West (Western Shang). Ji Fa established a new dynasty named the Zhou dynasty and became the King Wu of Zhou. King Wu knew about the courageous prime minister Prince Bi Gan and sought his wife and child. When he found them, he honoured them in respect of Prince Bi Gan. The mother and child were restored to the Shang royal family. King Wu of Zhou conferred the surname Lin (meaning forest) and the Dukedom of Bo'ling on Prince Bi Gan's son, Lin (Lim/Lam) Jian (林坚), ennobled as the Duke of Bo'ling.

Other origins

Distribution

Within China, 林 is the 2nd most common surname in Hokkien, 4th most common in the city of Haikou, and 10th most common in the city of Guangzhou. In 2019 it was the 18th most common surname in mainland China.

Different versions of the name

Notable people surnamed Lin

This is an East Asian name, meaning the surname is stated "before" the given name, though East Asian persons living in Western countries will often put their surname after their given name.

Lin

Mandarin and Wu Chinese form:

Lam

Cantonese form:

Lum

Alternate Cantonese form:

Lim

Southern Min (Hokkien or Teochew) form:

Liem

Indonesian form:

Ling

Eastern Min, Northern Min, and Wu form: