Yin
A Chinese surname most commonly associated with a Chinese family name rather than a European one.
The #5,324 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 47,151 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Yin is a Chinese surname written with different characters in different families, so its original meaning can vary. In modern English usage it is usually a transliteration of a Chinese family name rather than a surname formed from English, Irish, or other European roots. Because the same spelling can represent multiple Chinese surnames, the literal etymology is not singular or certain without the original Chinese character.
History
In the English-speaking world, Yin appears mainly through immigration and transliteration from Chinese. The spelling is now familiar in diaspora communities and in romanization systems that render Chinese sounds in a short, simple Latin form. Historical English surname dictionaries sometimes mention the string of letters only incidentally, but not as a native European surname with a single established origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Roman spelling can represent more than one Chinese surname, so two people named Yin may not share the same original Chinese character or family history.
From the historical record
“J805. Hanird-Patriek EnjigJit a Cuberine Eagoi : Si. Cco.Kan. Sq, ii. v London, i; Livenmoi, I: New Yin >; PbUaddphia, II. Bnsor, EdaiiBor,— Local, ' of Edensor,' a parish in co. Derby, two miles from Bakewell. Always”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances