Lin (surname)

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Lin can be a pinyin transcription of one of several Chinese surnames, with 林 (pinyin Lín) being overwhelmingly the most common. The literal meaning of this surname is "forest". The majority of people with this surname are concentrated in Fujian and Taiwan. Among the overseas Chinese, particularly in Southeast Asia, Lin (also spelled as Lim or Liem) is also more common than in China as a whole because many overseas Chinese have origins in Fujian. In Hong Kong and in Vietnam, the name takes the form "Lam". Lin is the 2^nd most common surname in Taiwan, with a population of 9% Taiwanese (2.1 million, 2005 estimate), only behind Chen. In mainland China (except Fujian) Lin is less common.

In Korea, the name takes the form 임 (South Korea) or 림 (North Korea). These are pronounced /im/ and /ɾim/ respectively, and are thus usually romanized as Lim (South Korea sometimes "Im" or "Yim"). 임 is a fairly common Korean name; as of 2000, it was the surname of about 2.0% of the South Korean population (935,493 people).

A Japanese common surname, Hayashi, is written with the same character 林, also meaning forest.

A rare Chinese surname which is also transcribed Lin is 藺 (pinyin Lìn).

[edit] Myth

Myth states that during the reign of Zhou Wang ("纣王" in Chinese) the last king of Shang dynasty, his uncle was arrested for treason. Upon hearing this his pregnant wife ran into the forest to protect her unborn child from death. In the forest the child began to come. Alone with no one to help, she grabbed ahold of two trees and gave birth. When she reached the nearest town, she gave her child the surname Lin (two trees).

[edit] Famous people surnamed 林:

Be aware that in Chinese language, the surname is always stated before the given name.

According to historical records, people who carry the surname Lin are the descendents of Bi Gan, a loyal subject of King Zhou from the Shang Dynasty.

Bi Gan, the son of Prince Ding, son of Emperor Shang, was King Zhou's uncle. King Zhou was bloodthirsty and immoral, so Bi Gan stayed at the palace for three days and nights to try to persuade him to mend his ways. This enraged King Zhou and Bi Gan was killed.

When Bi Gan's pregnant wife, who bore the surname Chen, heard of her husband's death, she fled into some woods and gave birth to a baby boy, who she named Jian.

After the Shang Dynasty was toppled by the Zhou Dynasty, the position of Bi Gan's wife and son was restored. King Wu conferred the surname Lin (meaning woods or forests) on Bi Gan's son, because he was born in some woods.

By People's Online