Is Lin a boy or girl name?

Lin is a unisex name. Of the 1,897 Americans recorded with the name since 1880, 54.5% were girls and 45.5% were boys. It changed hands in 1966, and has gone mainly to boys since.

Name Legacy

Lin

Recorded 1898–2025 · United States

Lin was most popular in 1959, when 59 American babies were given the name — ranking #2,297 that year. In 2025 it ranked #20,040, with 7 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 1,897 people named Lin.

Lin over time

Births per year. The dot marks Lin’s peak in 1959. Gaps are years the SSA suppressed, which it does for any name given to fewer than five babies.

Is Lin a boy’s or a girl’s name?

Across the whole record Lin is a unisex name — 54.5% of the 1,897 Americans given it were girls and 45.5% were boys. It changed hands: since 1966 it has gone mainly to boys, having gone mainly to girls before that. In births since 2016 it is 71% girls and 29% boys.

Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.

Names that peaked alongside Lin

Where Lin is most concentrated

How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.

California 6.4×

Explore further

See Lin on the interactive charts

Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org