The Lim surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 37,021 people carried this name — #936 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 7,970 people counted. That is up 35% from 27,433 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Lim surname
From Korean, including 임 (Im), 林 or 任; 림 (Rim), 林.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Lim» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
463 people named Lim live in Switzerland.
They live in 19 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 459 people named Lim.
Most of them — 427 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 14 départements, most often Paris.
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 Argentina’s national register
At least 176 people named Lim live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 59 people named Lim 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 Antwerp.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
230 people named Lim are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. 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) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Lim in American newspapers,
1866–1949.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,324,499 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Lim,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Vicente Lim 1888–1944 · military personnel -
Louisa Lim 1901– · author -
Estefania Aldaba-Lim 1917–2006 · diplomat -
Salvacion Lim Higgins 1920–1990 · fashion designer -
Alfredo Lim 1929–2020 · mayor
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 185 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Lim.
- Lieux 129 · U.S. census
- Lievens 290 · U.S. census
- Liger 122 · U.S. census
- Liguori 2,027 · U.S. census
- Lile 2,608 · U.S. census
- Lillo 908 · U.S. census
- Lima 19,109 · U.S. census
- Limage 375 · U.S. census
- Limbach 877 · U.S. census
- Limberger 179 · U.S. census
- Limbert 451 · U.S. census
- Lime 330 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Lim 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.