Lin (surname)


Lin is the Mandarin romanization of the Chinese surname written 林. It is also used in Korea, Singapore, and the Philippines among the Chinese Filipino community. It is also common among overseas Chinese families, in which it is at times pronounced and spelled as Lim because many Chinese descendants are part of the Southern Min diaspora and speak Min Nan. In Cantonese-speaking regions such as Hong Kong and Macau it is spelled as Lam.

Name origin

, the last king of the Shang dynasty, had three uncles advising him and his administration. The king's uncles were Bi Gan, Jizi, and Weizi. Together the three men were known as "The Three Kind-Hearted Men of Shang" in the kingdom. Bi Gan was the son of Prince Ding, son of King Shang and, thus, was King Zhou's uncle.
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, Weizi resigned. Jizi faked insanity and was relieved of his post. Only 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. 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 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 placed called Chang Lin.
Before long, King Zhou was overthrown by King Wu of the Zhou dynasty. King Wu knew about the courageous court advisor Bi Gan and sought his wife and child. When he found them, he honoured them in respect of Bi Gan. The mother and child were restored to the royal family. The new king conferred the surname Lin on Bi Gan's son.

Other origins

Within the top 30 cities in China, 林 is the most common surname in the city of Fuzhou, 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

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.

Lim (Im, Yim)

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