Name

The municipality (originally the parish) comes from an old name for the area (Old Norse: Tinnr) or an old name for the local Tinnsjå. The name is possibly derived from the word tjǫrn which means "small lake" or "pond". Historically, the name was spelled Tind.^[7]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms was granted on 25 November 1994. The official blazon is "Argent, five gouttes de larmes, three and two" (Norwegian: I sølv fem blå dråper, 3-2). This means the arms have a field (background) has a tincture of argent which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The charge is a set of five gouttes (droplets) of water. This design was chosen to represent the five rivers in the municipality and the hydropower plants near Rjukan. The arms were designed by Halvor Holtskog. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Churches

The Church of Norway has two parishes (sokn) within the municipality of Tinn. It is part of the Øvre Telemark prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

Municipal council

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Tinn is made up of 25 representatives that are elected to four-year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

Mayors

The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Tinn:^[34]

WWII heavy water saboteurs

• Arne Kjelstrup MM (1913 in Rjukan – 1995), a Norwegian resistance member during WWII who participated in the Norwegian heavy water sabotage in 1942–1943
• Knut Lier-Hansen (1916 in Rjukan – 2008), a Norwegian resistance member during WWII and Army sergeant who participated in the sinking of SF Hydro as a part of the Norwegian heavy water sabotage
• Jens-Anton Poulsson (1918 in Tinn – 2010), a military officer and Norwegian resistance member who participated in the Norwegian heavy water sabotage in 1942–1943
• Claus Helberg (1919 in Rjukan – 2003), a Norwegian resistance member and mountain guide who participated in the Norwegian heavy water sabotage

Other public Service

• Sam Eyde (1866–1940), an engineer and industrialist who developed Rjukan Falls to produce hydro electrical power
• Albert Sund (1884–?), a trade union leader, Labour politician, and chairman of the Øst-Telemark faglige Samorg for three years
• Knut Haugland DSO, MM, (1917 in Rjukan – 2009), a WWII resistance fighter and explorer who accompanied Thor Heyerdahl on his famous 1947 Kon-Tiki expedition
• Einar-Fredrik Ofstad (1916 in Rjukan – 1998), a Norwegian diplomat
• Gunnar Sønsteby DSO (1918 in Rjukan – 2012), a member of the Norwegian resistance movement and Norway's most highly decorated citizen
• Petter Graver (1920 in Tinn – 1995), a jurist, diplomat from 1947 to 1988, and a lawyer
• Gunnar Odd Hagen (1921–1997), a politician and a dentist in Tinn
• Reidun Røed (1921 in Rjukan – 2009), a female Norwegian resistance member
• Bjørn Bruland (1926 in Rjukan – 2014), a Norwegian admiral and politician
• Reidar Engell Olsen (born 1933), a politician and Mayor of Tinn
• Jostein Børtnes (born 1937 in Hovin, Telemark), a literary historian and Slavist
• Signe Howell (born 1942 in Tinn), a social anthropologist and academic
• Bernt Ivar Eidsvig (born 1953 in Rjukan), a prelate of the Catholic Church and Bishop of Oslo
• Øystein Mæland (born 1960 in Rjukan), a psychiatrist, civil servant, and former politician

The Arts

• Knut Luraas (1782 in Tinn – 1843), a Hardingfele fiddler and artist
• Thomas Luraas (1799 in Tinn – 1886), a rose painter and clarinetist
• Else Poulsson (1909 in Rjukan – 2002), a painter and textile artist
• Jørn Lande (born 1968 in Rjukan), a hard rock and heavy metal singer and songwriter
• Linnea Dale (born 1991 in Tinn), a singer

Sport

• Snowshoe Thompson (born 1827 in Austbygdi, Telemark as Jon Torsteinsson Rue – 1876), a Norwegian-American who was considered the father of California skiing
• Jon Terje Øverland (born 1944 in Rjukan), an alpine skier who competed at the 1964 Winter Olympics and 1968 Winter Olympics