Ling is a surname which can be of Chinese, English, or Nordic origin.
"Ling" is the Roman alphabet spelling of multiple Chinese surnames.
According to traditional stories, the surname pronounced Líng (凌) 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 (康叔) 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 QuanLing Tong (凌統, 189–217), Eastern Han Dynasty military officer, son of Ling CaoLing Mengchu (凌濛初, 1580–1644), Ming Dynasty writerLing Shuhua (凌叔华, 1900–1990), Chinese modernist writerGilbert Ling (born 1919), Chinese-born American biologistIvy Ling Po (凌波, born 1939), Hong Kong actressLing Yun (politician) (凌云, born 1917), first Minister of State Security of the People's Republic of ChinaLing Li (writer) (凌力, born 1942), Chinese writer and historianLing Jing-huan (凌鏡寰, fl. 1950s), Taiwanese basketball playerLing Sik Hung, James (凌錫洪, born 1951), Salvation Army PastorLaura Ling (凌志美, born 1976), American journalistLing Wan Ting (凌婉婷, born 1980), Hong Kong badminton playerLing Cong (凌琮, born 1985), Chinese football playerAndrew Ling (凌顯祐), Hong Kong violistCharles Ling (凌晓峰), Chinese-born Canadian computer scientistDoris Ling-Cohan (凌德麗), American judge on the New York Supreme CourtA less-common surname pronounced Lìng (令) in Mandarin:
Ling Zhengce (令政策, born 1952), Chinese politicianLing Jihua (令计划, born 1956), Chinese politicianLing Wancheng (令完成, born 1960), Chinese businessman"Ling" may also be an Eastern Min, Northern Min, or Wu transcription of the surname pronounced in Mandarin as Lín (林). People with this surname spelled as "Ling" include:
Ling How Doong (林孝谆, born 1934), Singaporean politician and lawyerLing Liong Sik (林良实, born 1943), Malaysian politicianJahja Ling (林望傑, born 1951), Indonesian-born American orchestral conductorTschen La Ling (林球立, born 1956), Dutch football playerAlan Ling Sie Kiong (林思健, born 1983), Malaysian lawyerJulia Ling (林小微, born 1983), American television actressLandon Ling (林家亮, born 1987), Canadian football playerTung-Chai Ling (林忠财), Malaysian materials scientistThe following Chinese people have the surname Ling, but the characters for their Chinese names are not known:
Pamela Ling (born 1968), American reality show actress of Chinese descentLing Yong (born 1978), Chinese Paralympic athleteJohn Wey Ling, Chinese ballet dancerVictor Ling, Chinese-born Canadian medical researcherThe Vietnamese surname Linh originated from the Vietnamese pronunciation of a different character pronounced Líng in Mandarin (靈), which is not used as a surname in Chinese.
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.
Nicholas Ling (fl. 1570–1607), London publisher, bookseller, and editorPehr Henrik Ling (1766–1839), Swedish medical-gymnastic practitionerArchie Ling (1881–1943), English football playerDavid W. Ling (1890–1965), American federal judgeWilliam Ling (cricketer) (1891–1960), South African cricketerWilliam Ling (referee) (1908–1984), English football refereeAnthony Ling (1910–1987), British cricket playerTrevor Ling (1920–1995), British scholar of religionJames Ling (1922–2004), American founder of Ling-Temco-VoughtDaniel Ling (1926–2003), Canadian scholar who studied the teaching of speech to deaf childrenPeter Ling (1926–2006), British scriptwriter and novelistJohn Ling (1933–2005), British diplomat, farmer, politician and writerStaffan Ling (born 1944), Swedish actor and television presenterRichard Ling (born 1954), American communications scholarMartin Ling (born 1966), English football managerJamie Ling (born 1973), Canadian ice hockey playerDavid Ling (born 1975), Canadian professional ice hockey playerCameron Ling (born 1981), Australian rules footballerEdward Ling (born 1983), British sport shooterAdam Ling (born 1991), New Zealand rowerAndy Ling, British trance artist and remixerJason Ling, American technologistJonathan Ling, New Zealand businessman, CEO of Fletcher BuildingKristi Ling, American inspirational speakerPhilip Ling, Australian mountaineerFrancine Smith (née Ling) from the animated television series American Dad!Ling Xiaoyu (凌曉雨) from the Tekken seriesLing Zhen (凌振) from the classical novel Water Margin