Surname Rarity Checker / How rare is Kim
How Rare Is the Last Name Kim?
Kim is the 77th most common surname in the United States. About 262,352 Americans carry it, which works out to roughly 1 in 1,013 people, or 0.0988% of the population. That is a common surname, though far from the top of the list. Here is the full picture from the Census surname file, plus a card you can save and share.
- Rarity
- 1 in 1,013
- Tier
- Common
- U.S. rank
- 77th
- Share of people
- 0.0988%
- People named
- 262,352
- Source
- Census 2010
Based on the U.S. Census Bureau 2010 surname file, which counts 265,667,228 people across 162,253 surnames held by 100 or more people.
Where the surname Kim comes from
Kim is the most common surname in Korea, held by about one Korean in five. It is written with the character for gold, and it traces to several ancient clans that used the same character independently.
Want to check a different last name? Try the surname rarity checker. Last names are only half the picture: the first-name rarity checker runs the same math on given names, and how common is my name combines the two.
Frequently asked questions
- How rare is the last name Kim?
- Kim is in the Common tier. About 1 in 1,013 Americans share it, which is 0.0988% of the population, and it ranks 77th of all U.S. surnames. In total 262,352 people carried it in the 2010 Census.
- Is Kim a rare last name?
- No. Kim is a well-established surname rather than a rare one. It is in the Common tier, ranked 77th of all U.S. surnames, with about 1 in 1,013 Americans sharing it.
- How common is the surname Kim?
- About 1 in 1,013 Americans carry the surname Kim, which is 0.0988% of the population and 77th of all U.S. surnames. That places it in the Common tier.
- How many people have the last name Kim?
- 262,352 people in the United States, according to the Census Bureau's 2010 surname file, which counted 265,667,228 people across 162,253 surnames.
- Where does the surname Kim come from?
- Kim is the most common surname in Korea, held by about one Korean in five. It is written with the character for gold, and it traces to several ancient clans that used the same character independently.