The Lima surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 19,109 people carried this name — #1,882 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 15,400 people counted. That is up 41% from 13,539 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Lima surname
From the river's name.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Lima» (Portuguese), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 15,169 people named Lima 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 Buenos Aires Province.
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 Switzerland’s population statistics
1,355 people named Lima live in Switzerland.
They live in 23 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
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 283 people named Lima.
Most of them — 174 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 37 départements, most often Guadeloupe.
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
43 people named Lima have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 78 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 4 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Greater 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 Belgium’s population register
At least 35 people named Lima 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
722 people named Lima are counted in Norway and Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers.
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.
In print
Lima in American newspapers,
1891–1917.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 861,152 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Lima,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Tomás Xavier de Lima Teles da Silva, 1st Marquis of Ponte de Lima 1727–1800 · politician -
Domingos Xavier de Lima 1765–1802 · military personnel -
Antônio de Souza Lima 1792–1846 -
José Ignacio Abreu y Lima 1794–1869 · writer -
Fideralina Augusto Lima 1832–
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 161 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Lima.
- 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
- Lim 37,021 · 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
- Limes 310 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Lima 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.