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Updated February 15, 2024

Table of contents

Girl name origins & meanings

  • Japanese : Tender

Girl name variations

Jyn

Boy name origins & meanings

  • Chinese : Gold

How Popular Is The Name Jin

Family name origins & meanings

  • 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.
  • Chinese : 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.
  • Chinese : 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.
  • Korean : variant of Chin 4.
  • Japanese : ‘ranks’ or ‘battle array’. The name is not common in Japan.

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