Lin
Lin is a unisex given name: about 49% of people named Lin are men and 51% are women, so a gendered salutation is a coin flip and the neutral form is the safe choice.
This name is used for both men and women without a strong lean either way.
- Verdict
- Unisex
- Male / female split
- 49% male / 51% female
- Confidence
- High (64 or more weighted country observations)
- Most common in
- China, United States, Great Britain
- US births since 1880
- 838 male / 974 female
- Data
- nam_dict (GFDL) + US SSA
- Updated
- 2026-09-11
How to address Lin
To address Lin when you do not know their gender, use the full name with no title: "Dear Lin," in English, "Guten Tag Lin," in German. About 49% of people named Lin are men and 51% are women, so a gendered salutation is close to a coin flip, and the neutral form above is the safer choice.
Ready-made greetings in six languages
English
Dear Lin,
German
Guten Tag Lin,
French
Bonjour Lin,
Spanish
Estimado/a Lin:
Chinese
Lin您好：
Japanese
Lin様
English
Hi Lin,
German
Hi Lin,
French
Salut Lin,
Spanish
Hola Lin,
Chinese
Lin你好：
Japanese
Linさん
This is a statistical estimate, not a statement about the gender, identity or correct form of address of any particular person.
Country breakdown
| Country | How common | Usually | Male share |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | common | unisex name | 50% |
| United States | uncommon | woman's name | 46% |
| Great Britain | rare | woman's name | 2% |
| Norway | rare | woman's name | 2% |
United States birth data
838 male · 974 female · 1,812 births recorded
Since 1980: 27% male.
Frequently asked questions
Is Lin a male or female name?
Lin is a unisex given name: about 49% of people named Lin are men and 51% are women, so a gendered salutation is a coin flip and the neutral form is the safe choice.
How do I address Lin in an email?
To address Lin when you do not know their gender, use the full name with no title: "Dear Lin," in English, "Guten Tag Lin," in German. About 49% of people named Lin are men and 51% are women, so a gendered salutation is close to a coin flip, and the neutral form above is the safer choice.
Is Lin a unisex name?
Lin is a unisex name: 49% of people named Lin are men. The split stays close across most of the countries in the data.
Related names
Sources
Gender by country: nam_dict, the c't first-names dictionary by Joerg Michael, roughly 44,000 names across 55 countries, licensed GFDL. US frequencies: United States Social Security Administration baby-name data, public domain. Method: how we classify names. Full dataset: data & licences. Data built 2026-09-11.
DearWho, "Is Lin a male or female name?", https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/lin (accessed 2026-09-11). Data: nam_dict (J. Michael, GFDL) and US SSA, built 2026-09-11.
BibTeX
@misc{dearwho_lin,
title = {Is Lin a male or female name?},
author = {{DearWho}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/lin},
note = {Data: nam_dict (GFDL), US SSA public domain}
}