# Kim (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/kim/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Korean.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Korean |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 262,352 |
| US rank (2010) | 77 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 1,177 people |
| Change since 2000 | +35% (194,067 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /kɪm/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Clipping of Kimball and Kimberley as a male name, and of Kimberley and Kimberly as a female name.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Kim in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 2.5% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.4% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 0.7% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 94% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.0% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Kim in the United States, South Korea, Austria, Australia, Joseon and North Korea.

## People named Kim

- Kim Dae-jung, 8th President of the Republic of Korea (1924–2009)
- Chloe Kim, American snowboarder
- Randall Duk Kim, American actor
- Kim Boo-kyum, 43rd Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea
- Jonny Kim, American physician, Navy SEAL, and NASA astronaut
- Andy Kim, American politician and diplomat (born 1982)
- Jaegwon Kim, American philosopher (1934–2019)
- Jacqueline Kim, American actor and filmmaker
- Anna Kim, Austrian writer
- Young Kim, American politician
- Sung Kim, American diplomat
- Yuri Kim, American diplomat

and 11 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Keim, Kime, Kin, Khan, Kane, Kuhn, Kinney, Kenney, Keen, Keene, Kenny, Kahn.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.