Updated January 23, 2020

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Girl name origins & meanings

  • Chinese : Silver

Family name origins & meanings

  • Chinese : from the name of Yin City, in present-day Shanxi province, or from a status name of a government official. A grandson of the legendary emperor Huang Di (2697–2595 bc) was granted Yin City and in due course his descendants adopted the name of the city as their surname. Additionally, throughout the Shang (1766–1122 bc) and Zhou (1122–221 bc) dynasties, there existed a high government position called Yin. Many descendants of Yin officials adopted the status name Yin as their surname.
  • Chinese : from the name of the Yin dynasty and the city from which it takes its name. Midway through the Shang dynasty (1766–1122 bc), the Shang moved their capital to the city of Yin, in present-day Henan province. Some scholars divide the Shang dynasty into two parts, calling the first half the Shang dynasty, and the second half the Yin dynasty. After the Zhou conquered the Shang, many descendants of the vanquished Yin adopted the city name as their surname.
  • Cambodian : unexplained.