Ling (surname) explained
Ling is a surname which can be of either Chinese, English, or Nordic origin.
Chinese
"Ling" is the Roman alphabet spelling of multiple Chinese surnames.
Líng (Chinese: 凌)
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 had a son who held this post, and Kang Shu's descendants later adopted Líng as their surname.[1]
- Ling Cao (Chinese: 凌操, died 203), Eastern Han dynasty military officer serving under the warlords Sun Ce and Sun Quan
- Ling Tong (Chinese: 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 (Chinese: 凌叔华, 1900–1990), Chinese modernist writer
- Ling Yun (politician) (Chinese: 凌云, 1917–2018), first Minister of State Security of the People's Republic of China
- Gilbert Ling (Chinese: 凌寧, 1919–2019), Chinese-born American biologist
- Ling Qing (Chinese: 凌青, 1923–2010), Chinese diplomat
- Ivy Ling Po (Chinese: 凌波, born 1939), Hong Kong actress
- Ling Li (writer) (Chinese: 凌力, 1942–2018), Chinese writer and historian
- Ling Jing-huan (Chinese: 凌鏡寰, fl. 1950s), Taiwanese basketball player
- James Sik Hung Ling (Chinese: 凌錫洪, 1951–2001), Hong Kong Salvation Army pastor
- Laura Ling (Chinese: 凌志美, born 1976), American journalist
- Lisa Ling (Chinese: 凌志慧, born 1973), American journalist, television presenter, and author
- Ling Yong (Chinese: 凌勇, born 1978), Chinese Paralympic athlete
- Ling Wan Ting (Chinese: 凌婉婷, born 1980), Hong Kong badminton player
- Ling Jie (Chinese: 凌洁, born 1982), Chinese artistic gymnast
- Ling Cong (Chinese: 凌琮, born 1985), Chinese football player
- Ling Zihan (Chinese: 凌子涵, born 1987), Chinese technology businesswoman
- Kang Ling (Chinese: 凌康, born 1997), Chinese racing driver
- Andrew Ling (Chinese: 凌顯祐), Hong Kong violist
- Charles Ling (Chinese: 凌晓峰), Chinese-born Canadian computer scientist
- Doris Ling-Cohan (Chinese: 凌德麗), American judge on the New York Supreme Court
- L.H.M. Ling (Chinese: 凌煥銘), American scholar of international affairs
Lìng (Chinese: 令)
There is also a less-common surname pronounced Lìng in Mandarin. In some cases, it may be a shortened version of the surname Linghu .[2] People with this surname include:
- Ling Zhengce (Chinese: 令政策, born 1952), Chinese politician
- Ling Jihua (Chinese: 令计划, born 1956), Chinese politician
- Huping Ling (Chinese: 令狐萍, born 1956), Chinese-born American historian
- Ling Wancheng (Chinese: 令完成, born 1960), Chinese businessman
Regional pronunciation of Lín (Chinese: 林)
"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 (Chinese: 林孝谆, 1934–2021), Singaporean politician and lawyer
- Ling Liong Sik (Chinese: 林良实, born 1943), Malaysian politician
- Victor Ling (Chinese: 林重慶, born 1943), Chinese-born Canadian medical researcher
- Jahja Ling (Chinese: 林望傑, born 1951), Indonesian-born American orchestral conductor
- Tschen La Ling (Chinese: 林球立, born 1956), Dutch football player
- John Wey Ling (Chinese: 林建伟; born), Chinese-born American ballet dancer
- Alan Ling Sie Kiong (Chinese: 林思健, born 1983), Malaysian lawyer
- Julia Ling (Chinese: 林小微, born 1983), American television actress
- Landon Ling (Chinese: 林家亮, born 1987), Canadian football player
Other Chinese characters
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 (Chinese: 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), 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.
Others
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]
- Nicholas Ling, London publisher, bookseller, and editor
- Pehr Henrik Ling (1766–1839), Swedish medical-gymnastic practitioner
- Christopher Ling (1880–1953), English soldier and cricketer
- Archie Ling (1881–1943), English football player
- David W. Ling (1890–1965), American federal judge
- William Ling (cricketer) (1891–1960), South African cricketer
- William Ling (referee) (1908–1984), English football referee
- Anthony Ling (1910–1987), British cricket player
- James Ling (1922–2004), American founder of Ling-Temco-Vought
- Daniel Ling (1926–2003), Canadian scholar who studied the teaching of speech to deaf children
- Peter Ling (1926–2006), British scriptwriter and novelist
- Robin Ling (1927–2017), English surgeon who invented the Exeter hip system
- John Ling (1933–2005), British diplomat, farmer, politician and writer
- Sergey Ling (born 1937), Belarusian politician
- Staffan Ling (born 1944), Swedish actor and television presenter
- Richard Ling (born 1954), American communications scholar
- Martin Ling (born 1966), English football manager
- Tanya Ling (born 1966), Indian fashion designer
- Jamie Ling (born 1973), Canadian ice hockey player
- Björn A. Ling (born 1974), Swedish actor and bandy player
- David Ling (born 1975), Canadian professional ice hockey player
- Cameron Ling (born 1981), Australian rules footballer
- Edward Ling (born 1983), British sport shooter
- Adam Ling (born 1991), New Zealand rower
- Andy Ling, British trance artist and remixer
People with the surname Lings include:
Fictional characters
- Francine Smith (née Ling) from the animated television series American Dad!
- Ling Xiaoyu (Chinese: 凌曉雨) from the Tekken video game series
- Ling Yao, a character from the anime/manga series Fullmetal Alchemist
- Ling Zhen (Chinese: 凌振) from the classical novel Water Margin
- Mei Ling, a guest character from the cartoon series What's New, Scooby-Doo?, in the episode "Block-Long Hong Kong Terror"
- Penny Ling, from Littlest Pet Shop
- Lynn Minmay (Chinese: 鈴明美) from Robotech
- Ling, a character from the Mulan series
- Ivy Ling, American Girl character, best friend of Julie Albright
Notes and References
- Book: Chao, Sheau-yueh J.. Genealogical Research on Chinese Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company. 2000. 117.
- News: 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. 8 July 2017.
- Book: Starostin, Sergei. Sergei Starostin. http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/etymology.cgi?single=1&basename=%2Fdata%2Fchina%2Fbigchina&text_number=+956&root=config. 林. Sino-Tibetan Etymology Database. 20 October 2015.
- News: 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. 7 July 2017.
- Book: Bardsley, Charles Wareing Endell. A dictionary of English and Welsh surnames, with special American instances. London. H. Frowde. 1901. 485.
- Book: Patrick. Hanks. Richard. Coates. Peter. McClure. The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. Oxford University Press. 2016. 9780192527479. 1595.