How rare is the name Lin?

10,717 people in the United States have the first name Lin, about 1 in 28,182. It ranks #2,351 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

LIN

#2,351

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
10,717
About
1 in 28,182
This common or more
79.5%
Who bears it

Of the 10,717 people named Lin, 78.5% reported their origin as Asian or Pacific Islander, 15.5% as White and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino. 70.6% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Lin peaked in 1959, when 59 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18982025
Peak year
1959
Births that year
59
In 2025*
7 ▼88%
Recorded as
used for both

At least 1,897 babies have been given the name since 1898. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Lin by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1950s, when it ranked #2,466. The largest share of babies named Lin, 42.5%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).

1890s#3,9395
1910s#6,65237
1920s#6,25575
1930s#5,02389
1940s#2,782286
1950s#2,466474
1960s#3,437308
1970s#9,19783
1980s#9,014118
1990s#14,41984
2000s#12,689145
2010s#14,522125
2020s#14,93968
Before 19010.3%
Greatest Generation 1901–275.1%
Silent Generation 1928–4513.1%
Baby boom 1946–6442.5%
Generation X 1965–8011.6%
Millennials 1981–968.4%
Generation Z 1997–1211.2%
2013 and later7.8%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Either side of Lin

#2,349 Beverley · 10,730#2,350 Oswaldo · 10,721#2,352 Joana · 10,711#2,352 Lady · 10,711

Spelled almost the same

8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Lin, most common first.

#1,283 Lina · 28,814#2,039 Linh · 13,392#2,807 Lien · 8,235#3,411 Lino · 6,157#3,491 Lian · 5,941#7,747 Linn · 1,936#16,565 Lim · 678#20,187 Lion · 514

Also a last name

As a last name, Lin ranks #259 of 156,621, with 116,776 people. See Lin as a last name

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