Yin

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 4 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◐

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

• Chinese given name184K records spelled Yin3 spellings in the group

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

• a separate given name18K records spelled Yin3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, China, United Kingdom, Hong Kong

  Also written Yīn, Yǐn

• Portuguese given name15K records spelled Yin2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, United States, China, Malaysia

  Also written Yín

• Korean given name10K records spelled Yin15 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in South Korea, Malaysia, United States, Hong Kong

  Also written 유은, 이윤, iuN, Yueun, Iyun

• Burmese given name9.8K records spelled Yin57 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Myanmar (Burma), United States, Malaysia, Singapore

  Also written Ýîñ, Ýin, Ÿîñ, Yiñ, Yíñ

• French given name8.7K records spelled Yin4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, China, Malaysia

  Languages: French, Catalan

  Also written Yín, Yīn

71 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●

Yin 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 Chinese, nonstandard spelling of yīn

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

• Plata

  as a name·25,000 nombres de bebé. La mejor guía para escoger el nombre adecuado

• In och, Be a follower, successor, heir, posterity

  as a word·Schuessler, ABC Etymological Dictionary of Old Chinese (2007)

• In enm, alternative form of þin (“thy”)

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

• In Yoruba, your (second-person plural or honorific possessive pronoun)

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

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●

SE SCB — Namnstatistik (to 2023) — 22 years between 1999–2020. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Zhang Yanb. 150CNnot in their usual namelate 2nd century Chinese leader of the Heishan bandits
• Li Xianb. 653not in their usual nameTang Dynasty crown prince
• Ho Yinb. 1908PTPortuguese politician
• Patrick Tse Yinb. 1936CNHong Kong actor (1936–2026)
• Xi Xib. 1937CNnot in their usual namewriter from Hong Kong
• Yao Yanb. 1974CNnot in their usual nameChinese badminton player
• Athena Lee Yenb. 1981TWnot in their usual nameTaiwanese actress
• Yin Changb. 1989USAmerican actress
• Lan Yanb. 1990CNnot in their usual nameChinese actress, pop singer, and model
• Han Eumnot in their usual namepolitician

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 · 265 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Yin?

We estimate roughly 3.0 thousand people bear Yin (counting its spellings and scripts) across 8 countries in our records.

In which country does Yin have the most bearers?

Yin is most frequently recorded in Malaysia, where it is most often spelled yin.

How common is Yin compared with other names?

In Malaysia, Yin is the 168th most common given name of 325,158 given names recorded there.

Is Yin a male or female name?

Yin 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 Yin mean?

Recorded meaning: A principle in Chinese and related East Asian philosophies associated with dark, cool, female, etc.