Chin (surname)
Chin is a surname. As a Chinese surname or Korean surname, it could originate from various Chinese characters, and it is also a surname in other cultures as well.
Origins
As a Chinese surname, Chin could originate from numerous Chinese characters including the following, listed by their spelling in Mandarin Pinyin:- Chen, spelled Chin based on its pronunciation in multiple varieties of Chinese including Hakka.
- Jīn, spelled Chin in the Wade–Giles system used until the mid-20th century and still widespread in Taiwan.
- Jìn, spelled Chin in the Wade–Giles system.
- Qián, spelled Chin based on its pronunciation in Cantonese. Written with a character meaning "money", according to tradition this originated as an occupational surname during the Western Zhou dynasty.
- Qín, spelled Chin based on a simplification of the Wade-Giles spelling Ch'in. This originated as a toponymic surname, referring either to the state of Qin or to later places with the same name.
As an English surname, Chin is a variant spelling of Chinn, which originated as a nickname for people with prominent or distinctive chins.
Statistics
The 2000 South Korean census found 170,980 people with the four Korean surnames spelled Chin in McCune–Reischauer. However, relatively few South Koreans with these surnames choose to spell them as Chin. In a study based on year 2007 application data for South Korean passports, 94.3% of the applicants with one of these surnames chose the spelling Jin for their passport, while only 4.7% chose the spelling Chin.According to statistics cited by Patrick Hanks, 1,504 people on the island of Great Britain and 17 on the island of Ireland bore the surname Chin in 2011. In 1881 there were 53 people with the surname in Great Britain, primarily at Cornwall.
The 2010 United States Census found 27,487 people with the surname Chin, making it the 1,279th-most-common name overall. This represented an increase in absolute numbers, but a decrease in relative frequency, from 25,673 in the 2000 Census. In both censuses, slightly more than three quarters of the bearers of the surname identified as Asian, about 6% as White, and about 6% as Black. It was the 50th-most-common surname among respondents to the 2000 Census who identified as Asian.
People
Government, law, and politics
- Larry Chin, Chinese-born American CIA officer
- Peter Chin, New Zealand politician
- Ming Chin, American judge
- Peter Chin Fah Kui, Malaysian politician
- Elias Camsek Chin, Palauan politician
- Chin Young, South Korean politician
- Chin Hsiao-hui, Taiwanese politician
- Chin Tet Yung, Singaporean politician
- Denny Chin, American federal judge
- Margaret Chin, American politician of Chinese descent
- Maria Chin Abdullah, Malaysian politician
- Ben Chin, Canadian political advisor
- Chin Wan, Hong Kong localist activist
- Doug Chin, American lawyer and politician from Hawaii
- Chin Bun Sean, Cambodian politician
- Gabriel J. Chin, American law professor
- Chin Liew Ten, Singaporean philosophy professor
Music
- Eddie Chin, American bassist
- Vincent "Randy" Chin, Jamaican record producer
- Leonard Chin, Jamaican reggae record producer
- Clive Chin, Jamaican record producer
- Gordon Shi-Wen Chin, Taiwanese composer
- Unsuk Chin, South Korean composer of classical music
- Tessanne Chin, Jamaican recording artist
- Esther Applunius Chin, Malaysian singer
- Robotaki, Canadian DJ and producer
- Meg Lee Chin, American musician
- Valentine Chin, Jamaican guitarist
Science and engineering
- Chin Fung Kee, Malaysian civil engineer
- Roland Chin, Hong Kong electrical engineering professor
- Wynne Chin, American management information systems professor
- Lynda Chin, Chinese-born American medical doctor
- Karen Chin, American paleontologist and taphonomist
- Chin Saik Yoon, Malaysian information and communication technologies scholar
- James Chin, American public health epidemiologist
Sport
- Chin Kuai-Ti, Chinese boxer
- Honson Chin, Jamaican cyclist
- Colin Chin, American ice hockey player
- Carla Chin, Canadian football goalkeeper
- Tiffany Chin, American figure skating coach
- Jimmy Chin, American mountaineer
- Krissy Chin, American figure competitor
- Chin Eei Hui, Malaysian badminton player
- Gordon Chin, Canadian soccer midfielder
- Chin Chum, Cambodian football striker
- Chin Kah Mun, Malaysian badminton player
- Dennis Chin, Jamaican football forward
- Marc Chin, Caymanian cricketer
- Shawn Chin, American soccer midfielder and forward
- Andrew Chin, American baseball pitcher
- Casey Chin, Canadian football linebacker
- Lee Chin, Irish hurler, Gaelic football, and soccer player
- Christian Didier Chin, Malaysian tennis player
Television and film
- Chin Tsi-ang, Chinese martial artist and actress
- Chin Han , Hong Kong actor
- Chin Han , Taiwanese actor
- Charlie Chin, Taiwanese actor
- Glen Chin, American actor of Chinese descent
- Chin Shih-chieh, Taiwanese actor
- Marcus Chin, Singaporean actor
- Chin Siu-ho, Hong Kong actor
- Chin Ka-lok, Hong Kong actor
- Sheila Chin, Hong Kong actress
- Feodor Chin, American actor
- Cheryl Chin, Singaporean actress
- Jolene Chin, Malaysian actress
- Ashley Chin, English actor of Jamaican descent
- Felicia Chin, Singaporean actress
- Lee Lin Chin, Indonesian-born Australian radio and television presenter
Writers and humanities scholars
- Chin Shunshin, Japanese novelist from Taiwan
- Frank Chin, American writer
- Annping Chin, American history lecturer
- Marilyn Chin, Hong Kong-born American writer
- Chin Jung-kwon, South Korean aesthetician
- Justin Chin, Malaysian-born American poet
- Staceyann Chin, Jamaican poet
- Mei Chin, American writer
Other
- Chin Gee Hee, Chinese merchant in Guangdong and Seattle, Washington
- Chin Chun Hock, first Chinese man to settle in Seattle, Washington
- Arthur Chin, American World War II fighter pilot in China
- Chin Peng, Malaysian communist leader
- Leeann Chin , Guangzhou-born American restaurateur
- Mel Chin, American visual artist
- Chin Dae-je, South Korean businessman and politician
- Vincent Jen Chin, American murder victim
- Curtis Chin, American businessman
- Alan Chin , American artist of Chinese descent
- Alan Chin, American photographer
- Walter Chin, Jamaican photographer
Fictional characters
- The Crimson Chin, from American animated television series The Fairly OddParents
- Jordi Chin, from Ubisoft's video games series Watch Dogs