GGood Chinese Name

Chinese surname · rank 62

金

金 is read as jīn.

Pinyin

jīn

Script forms

Simplified and traditional 金

Basic meaning

metal; gold; money

Five element

Metal

Origin

Time: Ancient Shaohao memory, Han-era and later ethnic-adoption traditions; Han-era tradition, 202 BCE-220 CE

Place: Multiple traditions: ancient eastern China, northwestern and northern China in later branches

Origin note

Jin has several major surname traditions rather than one clean origin. Some link Jin to Shaohao, whose descendants were associated with metal; others come from later title, place, or ethnic-adoption layers. The page presents Jin as a multi-source surname and keeps the basic meaning 'gold/metal' visible but not as a single origin proof.

Historical figures

金圣叹 (Jin Shengtan)

1608-1661 CE · literary critic

A late Ming and early Qing critic known for commentary on fiction and drama.

金庸 (Jin Yong)

1924-2018 CE · novelist

The pen name of Louis Cha, one of the most influential modern wuxia novelists.

Sources checked