The Karim surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,729 people carried this name — #6,001 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 51,500 people counted. That is up 49% from 3,853 in 2000.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 293 people named Karim live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Brussels-Capital.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
190 people named Karim live in Switzerland.
They live in 15 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 126 people named Karim.
Most of them — 99 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 17 départements, most often Val-de-Marne.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
29 people named Karim have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 155 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 5 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lesser Poland.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
2,071 people named Karim are counted in Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Karim in American newspapers,
1898–1963.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,659 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Karim,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Anna Karima 1870–1949 · writer -
Fazlul Karim 1905–1986 -
Mustai Karim 1919–2005 · writer -
Patricia Karim 1935– · actor -
Tariq Ahmed Karim 1944– · diplomat
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 103 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Karim.
- Karas 5,858 · U.S. census
- Karch 1,506 · U.S. census
- Karcher 3,746 · U.S. census
- Karcz 644 · U.S. census
- Karczewski 1,058 · U.S. census
- Kari 530 · U.S. census
- Karl 6,564 · U.S. census
- Karle 1,768 · U.S. census
- Karm 291 · U.S. census
- Karman 608 · U.S. census
- Karmann 285 · U.S. census
- Karolak 173 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Karim is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.