Lin is a unisex given name of Chinese origin, meaning "forest." It is composed of two characters: 林 (lín), which means "forest," and 立 (lì), which means "to stand upright" or "to establish." Therefore, the name Lin can be interpreted as "established in the forest" or "upright forest." In China, Lin is a common surname, ranking as the 27th most popular in Mainland China. Internationally, it has gained recognition and usage beyond its native country, with notable figures bearing this name including Taiwanese-American architect I.M. Pei (Lin Zhipeng) and Chinese-British mathematician Terence Tao (Tao Lin).
The name Lin experienced significant popularity and fluctuations over the past century, with a total of 1021 babies named Lin born between 1917 and 2023. The most notable peaks occurred during the late 1940s to early 1950s, with a record high of 35 births in 1952. After this peak, the popularity of the name Lin began to decline gradually, reaching its lowest point in recent years with only 5 births each in 2017 and 2023. Despite these fluctuations, the name has maintained some consistency, with an average of approximately 10 births per year over the entire period.