Ling (surname)

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 (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 Kang Shu had a son who held this post, and Kang Shu's descendants later adopted Líng as their surname.


 * 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 (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. 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 (林)
"Ling" may also be an Eastern Min, Northern Min, or Wu transcription of the surname pronounced in Mandarin as Lín. 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
One other rare surname also pronounced Líng in Mandarin is believed to be used by only eight people in China. 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.

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. Lings is a variant of the English surname Ling, with addition of an epenthetic s.


 * Nicholas Ling (fl. 1570–1607), 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:


 * Martin Lings (1909–2005), English philosophical writer
 * Stephen Lings, English wildlife artist

Fictional characters

 * Francine Smith (née Ling) from the animated television series American Dad!
 * Ling Xiaoyu (凌曉雨) from the Tekken video game series
 * Ling Yao, a character from the anime/manga series Fullmetal Alchemist
 * Ling Zhen (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 (鈴明美) from Robotech
 * Ling, a character from the Mulan series
 * Ivy Ling, American Girl character, best friend of Julie Albright