2000
#8,007
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,823
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.42
Rare Last name
Im
A Korean surname derived from the Chinese character 林, meaning "forest" or "woods."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,930 Americans carry the last name Im. That puts it at #6,320 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 57,800 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Im surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
5.9K
1 in 57,800
Census rank
#6,320
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,171 bearers of the surname Im in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6320th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Im, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Im
The surname Im has its origins traced back to the regions of present-day Germany and the Netherlands, where it first emerged in the early medieval period around the 10th or 11th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old Frisian and Old Saxon word "im," which meant "him" or "he," suggesting that the name may have been initially used as a nickname or descriptive term for a specific individual.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Im surname can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents and charters from the region of Saxony, where a person named Immo is mentioned in a record dated around 1050. This particular record pertained to a land transaction, indicating that the Im surname was already in use by that time.
In the 13th century, the name appears in various forms, such as Imme, Ymme, and Yme, in various medieval records and chronicles from the Netherlands and the Lower Rhine region of Germany. These variations in spelling were common during that era due to the lack of standardized orthography.
A notable historical figure bearing the Im surname was Johannes Im, a German Renaissance scholar and humanist who lived from around 1470 to 1536. He was a professor of rhetoric and poetry at the University of Leipzig and was widely respected for his contributions to the study of classical literature.
Another individual of note was Dietrich Im, a German painter and engraver who lived from approximately 1570 to 1635. He was known for his religious paintings and engravings, many of which adorned churches and monasteries in the region of Saxony.
In the 17th century, the Im surname can be found in the records of the Dutch East India Company, where a merchant named Pieter Im is listed as having traded in the city of Batavia, present-day Jakarta, Indonesia.
The name also appears in historical records from the United Kingdom, where a family by the name of Im was recorded in the parish registers of Lincolnshire in the late 16th century.
Other notable individuals bearing the Im surname include Johann Im, a German theologian and philosopher from the late 17th century, and Caspar Im, a Dutch painter and engraver from the early 18th century, known for his landscapes and portraits.
Overall, the surname Im has a rich history spanning several centuries and can be traced back to its origins in the regions of Germany and the Netherlands, where it was likely derived from an Old Frisian or Old Saxon word used as a descriptive term or nickname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Im
Among Census respondents with the surname Im, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Im bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Im surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander93.3% · 4,823
- White2.7% · 142
- Two or more races2.3% · 119
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 56
- Black or African American0.4% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Im
Im appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,880
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,887
+1,064 bearers (+27.8%)
Per 100,000 1.66
Rank movement Up 1,127 places
2020
#6,320
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,171
+284 bearers (+5.8%)
Per 100,000 1.73
Rank movement Up 560 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,007 | 3,823 | 1.42 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,880 | 4,887 | 1.66 | +1,064 bearers (+27.8%) | Up 1,127 places |
| 2020 | #6,320 | 5,171 | 1.73 | +284 bearers (+5.8%) | Up 560 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Im surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,880 | #6,320 | 8.1% |
| Count | 4,887 | 5,171 | 5.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.66 | 1.73 | 4.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Im bearers went from 4,887 to 5,171 (+5.8% change). The surname moved up 560 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,880 to #6,320.
FAQ
Im surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Im?
Name Census estimates that about 5,930 living Americans carry the surname Im. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 57,800 residents.
How common is Im?
Im ranks #6,320 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,171 people with the surname Im. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,930), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Im.
Has Im become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Im went from 4,887 recorded bearers to 5,171. That is an increase of 284 (+5.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #6,880 to #6,320.
What does the Census say about the background of Im?
Among Census respondents with the surname Im, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 93.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Im in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (4,823 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Im appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (93.3%), White (2.7%), Two or More Races (2.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Im (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Im mean?
A Korean surname derived from the Chinese character 林, meaning "forest" or "woods." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Im (1.73 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Im?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.