Lin
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Meaning
bright, clear (လင်း); spelled Lin, Linn or Lynn in the US, where it slides neatly into American name patterns
How popular is Lin around the world?
In the United States, 68 babies were named Lin between 2020 and 2025. In Norway, 4 girls were given the name Lin in 2025.
Lin is on the official records of the United States, Norway, Austria, South Australia, Spain, Mexico City, England and Wales, Argentina and Brazil.
United States
1 in 320,000
In the United States, 68 babies were named Lin between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Lin has stayed rare in US records the whole time: no peak decade to name.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Norway
1 in 6,700register 2026
In Norway, 4 girls were given the name Lin in 2025.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Austria
1 in 13,000
In Austria, 6 girls named Lin were born in 2025, the 672nd most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Lin in 2017.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Spain
1 in 73,000
In Spain, 402 residents are named Lin, ranked 2,662nd among women, with a mean age of 34.8 years.
In Spain, 214 residents are named Lin, ranked 4,420th among men, with a mean age of 39.6 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Mexico City City
1 in 120,000
In Mexico City, there was 1 registration of Lin in 2022.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
England and Wales
1 in 200,000
In England and Wales, 3 girls named Lin were born in 2025, ranked 5,927th among girls that year.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Argentina
1 in 330,000
In Argentina, 2 newborns were given the name Lin in 2024.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Brazil
1 in 330,000
At the 2022 census, 623 people in Brazil were named Lin, ranked 11,496th, with a median age of 46.
Among people named Lin living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1970s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Canada
last on record 2021
Lin is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Montevideo City
last on record 1999
Lin is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Not on the record in Puerto Rico, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown.
Keep exploring
The Lin deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Lin truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Lin fits with your family’s names and surname.
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