The earliest Lin surname came from Zi surname, which was formed in the early Western Zhou Dynasty and was a descendant of Bi Gan, a Shang royal family. According to the compilation of Yuan and surname in Tang Dynasty, they are the sons of Yin Taiding (by the way, it should be Wen Ding). Bigan was destroyed by Zhou, and his son Jane fled to Changlin Mountain, so his surname was Lin. "According to historical records such as Historical Records of Yin Benji and Song Shijia, Bi Gan was born in Qixian County, Henan Province, a nobleman of Shang Dynasty, and his son was his uncle. He has a high moral character and is loyal to Zhou Wang. Because Zhou Wang doted on da ji and was dissolute and heartless, he destroyed Zhong Liang. People hated him and the princes rebelled. Bigan risked his life to protest, but the "three-day remonstrator" annoyed Zhou Wang and was executed by caesarean section. According to the preface written by Zhong Shuling for "Lin's Authentic Genealogy" during the Zhenguan period of Tang Dynasty, Mrs. Chen, who was pregnant when Bi Gan was killed, was born as a man with great fame and ambition in order to avoid the Changlin Stone Chamber in the southwest of Qixian County and the northwest of Weihui County in Henan Province. Born in Changlin, it is named and given to Lin because of Lin; After Tang Yin, he was the ruler of the first king. He was able to avoid difficulties. He was infinite and wise enough to be in power. So he worshipped Jane as a doctor, served as the third supervisor, and was knighted in Boling, a food city. It can be seen that this Lin surname originated in Henan, and the ancestor was Lin Jian, the son of Bi Gan.
Another Lin surname comes from Ji surname, which was formed in the early Eastern Zhou Dynasty and is a descendant of Ji. Wang Jiyi of Zhou Ping said that the illegitimate child's name is, and some of his descendants are named after their ancestors, also known as Lin. This Lin surname is the "Lin family" mentioned in Tongzhi Genealogy in the Song Dynasty. Zhou Pingwang's illegitimate children, Lin Kaisheng, Lin Ying, Lin Yingsheng, Lin Mao and Lin Qing, have a clear family background. Its capital is Luoyang, so this Lin surname is also from Henan.
The third Lin surname was changed from ethnic minorities. According to Wei, Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved the capital from Pingcheng (now Datong, Shanxi Province) to Luoyang in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and ordered Xianbei people to change their surnames to Han, so they changed their surnames to Lin in the Northern Dynasties. Therefore, another source of Lin surname has been added. They are also from Henan.
The counties named Lin are Xihe, Nan 'an and Henan. Its hall number is more, besides Xihe, there are also Li, Zhongxiao, Yongze, Lin Ben, Tsinghua, Chongben and so on.