Kim

See also: kim, kìm, kiṃ, and kim-

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɪm/, [kʰɪm]

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪm

Etymology 1

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

Proper noun

Kim (plural Kims)

1. A unisex given name.
   1. A male given name transferred from the surname.
      • 1900 December – 1901 October, Rudyard Kipling, chapter I, in Kim, London: Macmillan and Co., published 1901, →OCLC, page 1:

        The half-caste woman who looked after him (she smoked opium, and pretended to keep a second-hand furniture shop by the square where the cheap cabs wait) told the missionaries that she was Kim’s mother’s sister; but his mother had been nursemaid in a colonel's family and had married Kimball O’Hara, a young color-sergeant of the Mavericks, an Irish regiment.

   2. A female given name transferred from the surname, of 1940s and later usage.
      • 1926, Edna Ferber, Show Boat, Doubleday, Page & Co, page 1:

        Bizarre as was the name she bore, Kim Ravenal always said she was thankful it had been no worse. […] It is no secret that the absurd monosyllable which comprises her given name is made up of the first letters of three states — Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri — in all of which she was, incredibly enough, born.

      • 1991, Don DeLillo, Mao II, Viking, →ISBN, page 16:

        It will take some getting used to, a husband named Kim. She has known girls named Kim since she was a squirt in a sunsuit. Quite a few really. Kimberleys and plain Kims.

      • 2015 September 9, Todd Leopold, “Band unhappy with use of ‘Eye of the Tiger’ for Kim Davis”, in CNN‎^[1]:

        The use of “Eye of the Tiger” at a rally for Kentucky clerk Kim Davis has Survivor’s Jim Peterik “risin’ up to the challenge” – and threatening action.

Derived terms

• Kimmi
• Kimmie
• Kimmy

Translations

male given name

• Arabic: كِيم m (kīm)
• Belarusian: Кім m (Kim)
• Bulgarian: Ким m (Kim)
• Catalan: Quim (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 金 (zh) (Jīn)

• Danish: Kim
• Japanese: キム (ja) (Kimu)
• Macedonian: Ким m (Kim)
• Norwegian: Kim (no)
• Portuguese: Kim m
• Russian: Ким (ru) m (Kim)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: Ким m

  Roman: Kim m

• Slovak: Kim m
• Swedish: Kim (sv)
• Ukrainian: Кім m (Kim)

female given name

• Dutch: Kim (nl)
• Russian: Ким (ru) f (Kim)
• Slovak: Kim f
• Swedish: Kim (sv)

Etymology 2

From Korean 김(金) (Gim).

Proper noun

Kim (plural Kims)

1. A surname from Korean.

   Alternative form: Gim

   • 2020 February 16, Justin McCurry, Nemo Kim, “Parasite: how Oscar triumph has exposed South Korea’s social divide”, in The Observer‎^[2]:

     Centring on the tension between the Kims, a basement-dwelling family of “dirt spoons” in Seoul, and the Parks, a family at the opposite end of the social spectrum, Parasite’s plot is predicated on the widening gap between the haves and the have nots in Asia’s fourth-biggest economy. […] “My husband and I thought it was such an honour for our shop to appear in Parasite,” its 72-year-old owner, Kim Kyung-soon, says.

Translations

Korean surname

• Arabic: كِيم (kīm)
• Belarusian: Кім (Kim)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 金 (zh) (Jīn)

• Dutch: Kim (nl)
• French: Kim (fr)
• German: Kim (de)
• Hebrew: קים (he) (kim)
• Hindi: किम (kim)
• Japanese: キム (ja) (Kimu), 金 (ja) (Kin)
• Korean: 김(金) (ko) (Gim)
• Macedonian: Ким (Kim)
• Persian: کیم (kim)
• Portuguese: Kim m or f
• Russian: Ким (ru) (Kim)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: Ким

  Roman: Kim

• Spanish: Kim (es)
• Swedish: Kim (sv)
• Ukrainian: Кім (Kim)
• Urdu: کیم (kim)
• Vietnamese: Kim (金 (vi))

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Kim is the 77^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 262,352 individuals. Kim is most common among Asian/Pacific Islander (94.47%) individuals.

Etymology 3

Proper noun

Kim

1. An Mbum language of southern Chad.

Danish

Etymology

Short form of Joakim.

Proper noun

Kim

1. a male given name from Hebrew

References

• [3] Danskernes Navne, based on CPR data: 34 878 males with the given name Kim have been registered in Denmark between about 1890 (=the population alive in 1967) and January 2005, with the frequency peak in the 1960s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English Kim.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɪm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪm
• Hyphenation: Kim
• Homophone: kim

Proper noun

Kim m or f

1. a unisex given name from English

Anagrams

• mik

Finnish

Etymology

From Danish Kim.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkim/, [ˈk̟im]
• Rhymes: -im
• Syllabification^(key): Kim
• Hyphenation^(key): Kim

Proper noun

Kim

1. a male given name

Declension

Inflection of Kim (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative		Kim	Kimit
genitive		Kimin	Kimien
partitive		Kimiä	Kimejä
illative		Kimiin	Kimeihin
		singular	plural
nominative		Kim	Kimit
accusative	nom.	Kim	Kimit
	gen.	Kimin
genitive		Kimin	Kimien
partitive		Kimiä	Kimejä
inessive		Kimissä	Kimeissä
elative		Kimistä	Kimeistä
illative		Kimiin	Kimeihin
adessive		Kimillä	Kimeillä
ablative		Kimiltä	Kimeiltä
allative		Kimille	Kimeille
essive		Kiminä	Kimeinä
translative		Kimiksi	Kimeiksi
abessive		Kimittä	Kimeittä
instructive		—	Kimein
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of Kim (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative Kimini Kimini accusative nom. Kimini Kimini gen. Kimini genitive Kimini Kimieni partitive Kimiäni Kimejäni inessive Kimissäni Kimeissäni elative Kimistäni Kimeistäni illative Kimiini Kimeihini adessive Kimilläni Kimeilläni ablative Kimiltäni Kimeiltäni allative Kimilleni Kimeilleni essive Kiminäni Kimeinäni translative Kimikseni Kimeikseni abessive Kimittäni Kimeittäni instructive — — comitative — Kimeineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative Kimisi Kimisi accusative nom. Kimisi Kimisi gen. Kimisi genitive Kimisi Kimiesi partitive Kimiäsi Kimejäsi inessive Kimissäsi Kimeissäsi elative Kimistäsi Kimeistäsi illative Kimiisi Kimeihisi adessive Kimilläsi Kimeilläsi ablative Kimiltäsi Kimeiltäsi allative Kimillesi Kimeillesi essive Kiminäsi Kimeinäsi translative Kimiksesi Kimeiksesi abessive Kimittäsi Kimeittäsi instructive — — comitative — Kimeinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative Kimimme Kimimme accusative nom. Kimimme Kimimme gen. Kimimme genitive Kimimme Kimiemme partitive Kimiämme Kimejämme inessive Kimissämme Kimeissämme elative Kimistämme Kimeistämme illative Kimiimme Kimeihimme adessive Kimillämme Kimeillämme ablative Kimiltämme Kimeiltämme allative Kimillemme Kimeillemme essive Kiminämme Kimeinämme translative Kimiksemme Kimeiksemme abessive Kimittämme Kimeittämme instructive — — comitative — Kimeinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative Kiminne Kiminne accusative nom. Kiminne Kiminne gen. Kiminne genitive Kiminne Kimienne partitive Kimiänne Kimejänne inessive Kimissänne Kimeissänne elative Kimistänne Kimeistänne illative Kimiinne Kimeihinne adessive Kimillänne Kimeillänne ablative Kimiltänne Kimeiltänne allative Kimillenne Kimeillenne essive Kiminänne Kimeinänne translative Kimiksenne Kimeiksenne abessive Kimittänne Kimeittänne instructive — — comitative — Kimeinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative Kiminsä Kiminsä accusative nom. Kiminsä Kiminsä gen. Kiminsä genitive Kiminsä Kimiensä partitive Kimiään Kimiänsä Kimejään Kimejänsä inessive Kimissään Kimissänsä Kimeissään Kimeissänsä elative Kimistään Kimistänsä Kimeistään Kimeistänsä illative Kimiinsä Kimeihinsä adessive Kimillään Kimillänsä Kimeillään Kimeillänsä ablative Kimiltään Kimiltänsä Kimeiltään Kimeiltänsä allative Kimilleen Kimillensä Kimeilleen Kimeillensä essive Kiminään Kiminänsä Kimeinään Kimeinänsä translative Kimikseen Kimiksensä Kimeikseen Kimeiksensä abessive Kimittään Kimittänsä Kimeittään Kimeittänsä instructive — — comitative — Kimeineen Kimeinensä

Statistics

• Kim is the 130^th most common male given name in Finland, belonging to 4,884 male individuals (and as a middle name to 655 more), and also is the 1074^th (tied with 7 other names) most common female given name in Finland, belonging to 144 female individuals (and as a middle name to 183 more), according to August 2025 data from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency of Finland.

German

Pronunciation

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Proper noun

Kim

1. a diminutive of the male given name Joachim, from Hebrew
2. a female given name from English, of recent usage

Norwegian

Etymology

Short form of Joakim.

Proper noun

Kim

1. a male given name from Hebrew

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈkĩ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈkĩ/

Etymology 1

Proper noun

Kim m

1. a male given name

Etymology 2

Proper noun

Kim m or f by sense

1. a surname from Korean

   Alternative form: Gim

Swedish

Proper noun

Kim c (genitive Kims)

1. a male given name from Hebrew, shortened from Joakim
2. a female given name from English, of recent usage

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 金 (“gold”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [kim˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kim˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [kim˧˧]
• Homophone: kim

Proper noun

Kim

1. (historical) the Jin dynasty (1115–1234 CE)
2. a surname from Chinese
3. a female given name from Chinese

Derived terms

• nhà Kim

See also

• kim

Dynasties (朝代) in Chinese history
Name	Time period	Divisions
Xia 夏 (nhà Hạ)	2070 – 1600 BCE
Shang 商 (nhà Thương) 殷 (nhà Ân)	1600 – 1046 BCE
Zhou 周 (nhà Chu)	1046 – 256 BCE	Western Zhou 西周 (nhà Tây Chu)
		Eastern Zhou 東周 (nhà Đông Chu)	Spring and Autumn period 春秋
			Warring States period 戰國
Qin 秦 (nhà Tần)	221 – 206 BCE
Han 漢 (nhà Hán)	206 BCE – 220 CE	Western Han 西漢 (nhà Tây Hán)
		Xin 新 (nhà Tân)
		Eastern Han 東漢 (nhà Đông Hán)
Three Kingdoms 三國	220 – 280 CE	Wei 魏
		Shu Han 蜀漢
		Wu 吳
Jin 晉 (nhà Tấn)	266 – 420 CE	Western Jin 西晉 (nhà Tây Tấn)
		Eastern Jin 東晉 (nhà Đông Tấn)
Southern and Northern dynasties 南北朝 (~ triều)	420 – 589 CE	Northern dynasties 北朝 (~ triều)	Northern Wei 北魏 (nhà Bắc Nguỵ)
			Western Wei 西魏 (nhà Tây Nguỵ)
			Eastern Wei 東魏 (nhà Đông Nguỵ)
			Northern Zhou 北周 (nhà Bắc Chu)
			Northern Qi 北齊 (nhà Bắc Tề)
		Southern dynasties 南朝 (~ triều)	Liu Song 劉宋 (nhà Lưu Tống)
			Southern Qi 南齊 (nhà Nam Tề)
			Liang 梁 (nhà Lương)
			Chen 陳 (nhà Trần)
Sui 隋 (nhà Tuỳ)	581 – 618 CE
Tang 唐 (nhà Đường)	618 – 907 CE
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms 五代十國	907 – 960 CE
Liao 遼 (nhà Liêu)	907 – 1125 CE
Song 宋 (nhà Tống)	960 – 1279 CE	Northern Song 北宋 (nhà Bắc Tống)
		Southern Song 南宋 (nhà Nam Tống)
Western Xia 西夏 (nhà Tây Hạ)	1038 – 1227 CE
Jin 金 (nhà Kim)	1115 – 1234 CE
Western Liao 西遼 (nhà Tây Liêu)	1124 – 1218 CE
Yuan 元 (nhà Nguyên)	1271 – 1368 CE
Ming 明 (nhà Minh)	1368 – 1644 CE
Qing 清 (nhà Thanh)	1636 – 1912 CE