Lim

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 4 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◐

Lim is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• a separate surname132K records spelled Lim2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, United States, Singapore, Malaysia

  Also written Lím

• Korean surname114K records spelled Lim19 spellings in the group

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

  Also written Rim, Urim, U-Rim, Rîm, Rïm

• Indonesian surname87K records spelled Lim4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore

  Also written Lim', Lïm, Ĺïm

• Khmer surname40K records spelled Lim3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Vietnam, United States, Malaysia, Singapore

  Languages: Khmer, Vietnamese

  Also written Lîm

86 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●

Lim 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 enm, alternative form of lym (“quicklime”)

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

• In Vietnamese, kind of fine timber native to Vietnam (Erythrophleum fordii)

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

• In Galician, first-person singular preterite indicative of ler

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

• In kxa, five (as a bound element in the numerals 6-9)

  as a word·Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (ACD), CLDF v2.0

• In ang, limb, bodily member; branch (of tree etc)

  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.

Notable people with this name●

• Lin Biaob. 1907CNnot in their usual nameChinese Communist military commander and politician
• Lam Ching-yingb. 1952CNnot in their usual nameHong Kong actor and choreographer (1952–1997)
• Carrie Lamb. 1957GBnot in their usual nameformer Chief Executive of Hong Kong
• Justin Linb. 1971USnot in their usual nameTaiwanian film director
• Dan Linb. 1973TWnot in their usual nameTaiwanese-American film producer (born 1973)
• Shu Qib. 1976TWnot in their usual nameTaiwanese actress (born 1976)
• Lin Danb. 1983CNnot in their usual nameChinese badminton player
• Dami Imb. 1988AUnot in their usual nameAustralian singer
• Jeremy Linb. 1988USnot in their usual nameTaiwanese-American basketball player
• Lim Na-youngb. 1995KRSouth Korean singer

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 · 164 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Lim?

We estimate roughly 43 thousand people bear Lim (counting its spellings and scripts) across 17 countries in our records.

In which country does Lim have the most bearers?

Lim is most frequently recorded in Malaysia, where it is most often spelled lim.

How common is Lim compared with other names?

In Malaysia, Lim is the 13th most common surname of 241,605 surnames recorded there.

What does the name Lim mean?

Recorded meaning: a Chinese Indonesian surname from Hokkien.