Kin

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◐

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

• Malay given name27K records spelled Kin3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Malaysia, United States, Hong Kong, Indonesia

  Languages: Malay, Indonesian

  Also written Ķĩň

• Spanish given name15K records spelled Kin12 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, United States, Philippines, Mexico

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Kïn, K'In, Kïň, Kïń, Kín

• English surname6.3K records spelled Kin49 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Russia

  Languages: English, Russian, Ukrainian

  Also written Keane, Кин, Кін, Кинь, Keen

• a separate given name5.9K records spelled Kin4 spellings in the group

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

  Also written Kín, Kiṅ, Kīn

• French given name4.0K records spelled Kin8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Malaysia, Hong Kong

  Also written Ķïň, Kïñ, Kïn, Kín, Kĩn

• Khmer given name3.2K records spelled Kin2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Hong Kong, Philippines, Cambodia

  Also written Kîñ

70 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●

Kin 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 English, from a Middle English personal name. Kin, Kinna, which is a shortened form of any of various Old English names beginning with Cyne ‘royal’, for example Cynesige (see Kinsey).

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In English, Dutch; nickname for someone with a pointed or jutting chin.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In English, Race; family; breed; kind.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, from Middle Dutch kinne ‘kin’.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In English, nickname from kin ‘pain’.

  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) — 43 years between 1935–2023. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Song Jianb. 150not in their usual nameEastern Han/Three Kingdoms military official
• Jun Wub. 469CNnot in their usual name469-520
• Kinko Hayashib. 1884JPnot in their usual nameJapanese author (1884-1967)
• Kin Sugaib. 1926JPJapanese actress (1926–2018)
• Feng Zuojianb. 1937CNnot in their usual nameChinese zoologist
• Gao Jianb. 1952CNnot in their usual nameChinese diplomat
• Li Ruojianb. 1956CNnot in their usual nameChinese sociologist
• Kin Endateb. 1960JPJapanese amateur astronomer who has discovered 593 asteroids
• Kin W. Moyb. 1966USAmerican diplomat
• Chien-Hsiun ChenUSnot in their usual namePh.D. State University of New York at Stony Brook 1998

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 · 344 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Kin?

We estimate roughly 2.7 thousand people bear Kin (counting its spellings and scripts) across 7 countries in our records.

In which country does Kin have the most bearers?

Kin is most frequently recorded in Hong Kong, where it is most often spelled kin.

How common is Kin compared with other names?

In Hong Kong, Kin is the 7th most common given name of 19,389 given names recorded there.

Is Kin a male or female name?

Kin is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Kin mean?

Recorded meaning: shortened form of OE names in Cyne-; first attested Saxe filius Kin e Hy 2 DC (L)