Ling is a surname which can be of either Chinese, English, or Nordic origin.

Chinese

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"Ling" is the Roman alphabet spelling of multiple Chinese surnames.

Líng ()

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According to traditional stories, the surname pronounced Líng () in Mandarin originated during the Zhou dynasty as an occupational surname for a court official responsible for the storage and handling of ice. King Wu of Zhou's brother Kang Shu [zh] had a son who held this post, and Kang Shu's descendants later adopted Líng as their surname.[1]

  • Ling Cao (凌操, died 203), Eastern Han dynasty military officer serving under the warlords Sun Ce and Sun Quan
  • Ling Tong (凌統, 189–217), Eastern Han dynasty military officer, son of Ling Cao
  • Ling Mengchu (凌濛初, 1580–1644), Ming dynasty writer
  • Ling Shuhua (凌叔华, 1900–1990), Chinese modernist writer
  • Ling Yun (politician) (凌云, 1917–2018), first Minister of State Security of the People's Republic of China
  • Gilbert Ling (凌寧, 1919–2019), Chinese-born American biologist
  • Ling Qing (凌青, 1923–2010), Chinese diplomat
  • Ivy Ling Po (凌波, born 1939), Hong Kong actress
  • Ling Li (writer) (凌力, 1942–2018), Chinese writer and historian
  • Ling Jing-huan (凌鏡寰, fl. 1950s), Taiwanese basketball player
  • James Sik Hung Ling (凌錫洪, 1951–2001), Hong Kong Salvation Army pastor
  • Laura Ling (凌志美, born 1976), American journalist
  • Lisa Ling (凌志慧, born 1973), American journalist, television presenter, and author
  • Ling Yong (凌勇, born 1978), Chinese Paralympic athlete
  • Ling Wan Ting (凌婉婷, born 1980), Hong Kong badminton player
  • Ling Jie (凌洁, born 1982), Chinese artistic gymnast
  • Ling Cong (凌琮, born 1985), Chinese football player
  • Ling Zihan (凌子涵, born 1987), Chinese technology businesswoman
  • Kang Ling (凌康, born 1997), Chinese racing driver
  • Andrew Ling (凌顯祐), Hong Kong violist
  • Charles Ling (凌晓峰), Chinese-born Canadian computer scientist
  • Doris Ling-Cohan (凌德麗), American judge on the New York Supreme Court
  • L.H.M. Ling (凌煥銘), American scholar of international affairs

Lìng ()

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There is also a less-common surname pronounced Lìng () in Mandarin. In some cases, it may be a shortened version of the surname Linghu (令狐).[2] People with this surname include:

  • Ling Zhengce (令政策, born 1952), Chinese politician
  • Ling Jihua (令计划, born 1956), Chinese politician
  • Huping Ling (令狐萍, born 1956), Chinese-born American historian
  • Ling Wancheng (令完成, born 1960), Chinese businessman

Regional pronunciation of Lín ()

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"Ling" may also be an Eastern Min, Northern Min, or Wu transcription of the surname pronounced in Mandarin as Lín ().[3] People with this surname spelled as "Ling" include:

  • Ling How Doong (林孝谆, 1934–2021), Singaporean politician and lawyer
  • Ling Liong Sik (林良实, born 1943), Malaysian politician
  • Victor Ling (林重慶, born 1943), Chinese-born Canadian medical researcher
  • Jahja Ling (林望傑, born 1951), Indonesian-born American orchestral conductor
  • Tschen La Ling (林球立, born 1956), Dutch football player
  • John Wey Ling (林建伟; born c. 1958), Chinese-born American ballet dancer
  • Alan Ling Sie Kiong (林思健, born 1983), Malaysian lawyer
  • Julia Ling (林小微, born 1983), American television actress
  • Landon Ling (林家亮, born 1987), Canadian football player

Other Chinese characters

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One other rare surname () also pronounced Líng in Mandarin is believed to be used by only eight people in China.[4] People with this surname include:

  • Ling Kai (鈴凱, born 1986), Singaporean singer-songwriter

The following Chinese people have the surname Ling, but the characters for their Chinese names are not known:

  • Jonathan Ling (born c. 1954), Australian businessman of Chinese descent, CEO of Fletcher Building
  • Pam Ling (born 1968), American reality show actress of Chinese descent

The Vietnamese surname Linh originated from the Vietnamese pronunciation of a different character pronounced Líng in Mandarin (), which is not used as a surname in Chinese.[citation needed]

Others

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The English surname Ling, also spelled Linge, may have two different origins: one from a word used in Lincolnshire meaning "heath", and the other as a toponymic surname referring to the parish of Lyng, Somerset.[5] Lings is a variant of the English surname Ling, with addition of an epenthetic s.[6]

People with the surname Lings include:

Fictional characters

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References

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  1. ^ Chao, Sheau-yueh J. (2000). Genealogical Research on Chinese Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company. p. 117.
  2. ^ "山西令氏大有来头 网友观点:令狐名气大却不常见". Phoenix Television. 21 June 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  3. ^ Starostin, Sergei. "林". Sino-Tibetan Etymology Database. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  4. ^ "南京生僻姓氏调查:电台主持本姓'铃'全国8人是一家". Eastday. 4 January 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  5. ^ Bardsley, Charles Wareing Endell (1901). A dictionary of English and Welsh surnames, with special American instances. London: H. Frowde. p. 485.
  6. ^ Hanks, Patrick; Coates, Richard; McClure, Peter, eds. (2016). The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. Oxford University Press. p. 1595. ISBN 9780192527479.