Jin

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 7 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Jin is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Chinese given name264K records spelled Jin4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, China, Malaysia, Taiwan

  Also written Jìn, Jīn

• Korean surname186K records spelled Jin45 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in South Korea, United States, Malaysia, China

  Also written 진, Chin, 진국, 진오, Chen

• a separate given name63K records spelled Jin2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, China, United Kingdom, India

  Also written Jīn

• Malay given name35K records spelled Jin4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, United States

  Languages: Malay, Indonesian

  Also written Jïn, Ĵïň

• Japanese given name21K records spelled Jin6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Japan, United States, Philippines, Malaysia

  Also written Jiñ, Jín, Jïñ, Jīn, Jîn

• Vietnamese given name14K records spelled Jin96 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Vietnam, United States, Malaysia, Singapore

  Also written Tan, Tấn, Tân, Đàm, Tần

78 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Jin is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In Korean, Chinese empire/dynasty that Koryo formed tributary ties with

  as a name·Korea - A Historical and Cultural Dictionary

• Chinese from the honorary surname, Jin Tianshi of Shao Hao, a son of the legendary emperor Huang Di of the 26th century bc. The character for jin also means ‘gold’ or ‘metal’. Some later descendants of Shao Hao adopted Jin as their surname.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• 5. Japanese: ‘ranks’ or ‘battle array’. The name is not common in Japan.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• from the name of the Jin river. Wu Wang, the first king of the Zhou dynasty (1122-16 bc), granted the state of Tang to his third son. Since the Jin river flowed through it, the name of the state was later changed to Jin. Descendants of the third son adopted the new name of the state name as their surname.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• from the name of Jin Shang, a chief official in the state of Chu during the Zhou dynasty (1122-221 bc). Some of his descendants adopted this surname.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 57 years between 1961–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Li Xianb. 653not in their usual nameTang Dynasty crown prince
• Patrick Tse Yinb. 1936CNnot in their usual nameHong Kong actor (1936–2026)
• Ha Jinb. 1956CNauthor and poet
• Jin Matsubarab. 1956JPJapanese politician
• Lee Min Jinb. 1968KRAmerican writer
• Ryu Jinb. 1972KRSouth Korean actor
• Jin Katagirib. 1973JPJapanese actor and artist
• Lee Jinb. 1980KRSouth Korean singer and actress
• Ma Jinb. 1988CNChinese badminton player
• Jin Hab. 1994USAmerican actor

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 614 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Jin?

We estimate roughly 8.8 thousand people bear Jin (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Jin have the most bearers?

Jin is most frequently recorded in Australia, where it is most often spelled jin.

How common is Jin compared with other names?

In Australia, Jin is the 733rd most common given name of 197,734 given names recorded there.

Is Jin a male or female name?

Jin is recorded for both men and women. We don't publish a percentage split: a record's gender belongs to the person and is attached to every given name on that record, so names in cultures where a name string also carries a parent's or spouse's given name pick up large cross-gender counts.

What does the name Jin mean?

Recorded meaning: (i) honorary surname meaning ‘gold’ or ‘metal’; (ii) ‘person living by the River Jin’, China.