How common is the surname Kim?

262,352 people in the United States had the surname Kim in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,177 Americans. It ranked 77th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Kim?

Kim Dae-jung, 8th President of the Republic of Korea (1924–2009), followed by Chloe Kim.

Where is the surname Kim most common?

Wikidata records people named Kim in the United States, South Korea and Austria and 3 other countries.

Is the surname Kim getting more or less common?

More common. 194,067 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 262,352 in 2010, up 35%.

Is Kim also a first name?

Yes. Kim is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Kim

A Korean surname, the 77th most common in the United States.

Pronounced /kɪm/ 1 syllable Soundex K500 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Kim is more common than 99.9% of them.

Origin

Korean origin

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

One of 42 Korean surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 262,352 people named Kim in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 1,177 Americans. That is up 35% since 2000, when the Census counted 194,067.

#77

rank among US surnames

262,352

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+35.2%

change since 2000 (was #109)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#68	Ortiz	286,899	1,076
#69	Morgan	286,280	1,078
#70	Cooper	280,791	1,100
#71	Peterson	278,297	1,109
#72	Bailey	277,845	1,111
#73	Reed	277,030	1,114
#74	Kelly	267,394	1,155

Who is named Kim

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

94% of people named Kim identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 2.5% as white (not Hispanic) and 2.0% as two or more races.

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

Compare: most common surnames among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.

Famous Kims

23 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Kim Dae-jung
8th President of the Republic of Korea (1924–2009)
Chloe Kim
American snowboarder, born 2000
Randall Duk Kim
American actor, born 1943
Kim Boo-kyum
43rd Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, born 1958
Jonny Kim
American physician, Navy SEAL, and NASA astronaut, born 1984
Andy Kim
American politician and diplomat (born 1982)
Jaegwon Kim
American philosopher (1934–2019)
Jacqueline Kim
American actor and filmmaker, born 1965
Anna Kim
Austrian writer, born 1977
Young Kim
American politician, born 1962
Sung Kim
American diplomat, born 1960
Yuri Kim
American diplomat, born 1972

Notable Kims come mostly from the United States (16), South Korea (3) and Austria (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Kim

Kim has the Soundex code K500, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code K500.

Other Korean surnames

All 42 Korean surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Kim come from?: Clipping of Kimball and Kimberley as a male name, and of Kimberley and Kimberly as a female name.
How common is the surname Kim?: 262,352 people in the United States had the surname Kim in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,177 Americans. It ranked 77th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Kim?: In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named Kim identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 2.5% as white (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Kim?: Kim Dae-jung, 8th President of the Republic of Korea (1924–2009), followed by Chloe Kim.
Where is the surname Kim most common?: Wikidata records people named Kim in the United States, South Korea and Austria and 3 other countries.
How do you pronounce Kim?: Kim is /kɪm/, one syllable.
Is the surname Kim getting more or less common?: More common. 194,067 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 262,352 in 2010, up 35%.
Is Kim also a first name?: Yes. Kim is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.