Kim

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Kym in FR France, AR Argentina, ES Spain and 1 more.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 18 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Kim is also recorded as 7 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Korean surname14M records spelled Kim34 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in South Korea, United States, Canada, United Kingdom

  Also written 김, Gim, 킴, Kîm, 김호

• Vietnamese surname1.1M records spelled Kim6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Vietnam, United States, Malaysia, United Kingdom

  Also written Kìm, Kím, Kịm, Kïm

• Spanish surname674K records spelled Kim35 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, France, Argentina, Brazil

  Languages: Spanish, French, Portuguese

  Also written Kïm, Kîm, Kìm, Kīm, Kím

• a separate surname630K records spelled Kim5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India

  Also written Kìm, Kīm, Ḳim

• a separate surname252K records spelled Kim17 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Kïm, Ķìm, Ķïm, Kìm, Kîm

• Danish surname250K records spelled Kim13 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Denmark, United States, Norway, Canada

  Languages: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian Bokmål

  Also written Kïm, Kîm, Kím, Ķîm, Ķïm

• Hindi surname60K records spelled Kim14 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Malaysia, India, Canada

  Languages: Hindi, Urdu, Bangla

  Also written Kym, Kimu, কিম, কিমু, Kïm

113 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Kim is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, Short form used for several names, often from English Kimberley or South Asian names.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In Korean, Silla aristocratic clan mentioned as having a divine-origin myth.

  as a name·Korea - A Historical and Cultural Dictionary

• In Korean, Korean surname; specific clan seat not given.

  as a name·Korea - A Historical and Cultural Dictionary

• , 3 Originally a short form of Kimberley, now established as an independent given name. The hero of Rudyard Kipling’s novel Kim (1901) bore the name as a short form of Kimball (a surname used as a given name). In recent years, as a girl’s name it has been borne by a number of well-known people, including the film stars Kim Novak (b. 1933) and Kim Bassinger (b. 1953).

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In English, Alternative form of gim (“edible seaweed”).

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 111 years between 1912–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Kim Il-sungb. 1912KPSupreme Leader of North Korea from 1948 to 1994
• Kim Dae-jungb. 1924KR8th President of the Republic of Korea (1924–2009)
• Kim Jong-ilb. 1941KPSupreme Leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011
• Jim Yong Kimb. 1959USSouth Korean-American physician and anthropologist, 12th President of the World Bank
• Kim Ki-dukb. 1960KRSouth Korean film director (1960–2020)
• Kim Jong Unb. 1984KPSupreme Leader of North Korea since 2011
• Kim Yo-jongb. 1987KPNorth Korean politician and diplomat, sister of Kim Jong Un
• Jonghyunb. 1990KRnot in their usual nameSouth Korean singer and dancer (1990–2017)
• Jennie Kimb. 1996KRSouth Korean singer-songwriter and rapper (born 1996)
• Kim Ju Aeb. 2013KPdaughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,715 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Kim?

We estimate roughly 273 thousand people bear Kim (counting its spellings and scripts) across 10 countries in our records.

In which country does Kim have the most bearers?

Kim is most frequently recorded in South Korea, where it is most often spelled kim.

How common is Kim compared with other names?

In South Korea, Kim is the 5th most common surname of 14,083 surnames recorded there.

What does the name Kim mean?

Recorded meaning: Chad: a people from the Somrai language group; also English short form of Kimberly, "ruler of the royal fortress".