The Lin surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 79,508 people carried this name — #402 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,710 people counted. That is up 61% from 49,360 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Lin surname
A surname from Chinese, equivalent to English Forest, Woods, or Grove A surname from Mandarin.
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”.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Lin» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 9,002 people named Lin live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
781 people named Lin live in Switzerland.
They live in 20 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 562 people named Lin live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Antwerp.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 424 people named Lin.
203 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 31 départements, most often La Réunion.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
93 people named Lin have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 779 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 10 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
849 people named Lin are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Lin in American newspapers,
1914.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,521,966 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Lin,
with a public archive behind them.
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Lin Fuxiang d. 1862 · politician
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Lin Shi d. 1646 · poet
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Lin Qian d. 1580 · politician
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Lin Shuo d. 1438 · politician
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Lin Qilong d. 1667 · politician
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Lin Tong d. 1276 · recluse
Wikidata (CC0) · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Lin.
- Limbert 451 · U.S. census
- Lime 330 · U.S. census
- Limes 310 · U.S. census
- Limoges 514 · U.S. census
- Limon 14,472 · U.S. census
- Limone 293 · U.S. census
- Lina 432 · U.S. census
- Linard 199 · U.S. census
- Linares 19,688 · U.S. census
- Linas 100 · U.S. census
- Linck 1,267 · U.S. census
- Lind 14,990 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Lin is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.