Find out how popular the last name Liem is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Liem.

Liem, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Liem surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Liem in America

Liem is the 32169th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Liem surname appeared 717 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Liem.

We can also compare 2010 data for Liem to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Liem

The surname Liem is believed to have originated in Vietnam during the 18th century. It is derived from the Vietnamese word "liem," which means "chaste" or "virtuous." The name was often given to individuals who were perceived to possess these qualities or who were respected members of their community.

In the early days, the surname Liem was primarily concentrated in the northern regions of Vietnam, particularly in the provinces of Bac Ninh and Hai Duong. It is thought to have been adopted by families who belonged to the scholar-gentry class or held positions of authority within the imperial bureaucracy.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Liem can be found in the "Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu," a historical text that chronicled the events of the Dai Viet kingdom (modern-day Vietnam) during the 15th and 16th centuries. The text mentions several individuals with the surname Liem who held important positions within the imperial court.

During the 19th century, as Vietnamese immigrants began to settle in other parts of Southeast Asia and beyond, the surname Liem became more widely dispersed. Notable individuals with this surname include:

1. Liem Sioe Liong (1835-1900), a prominent Chinese-Indonesian businessman and philanthropist who founded the Bank of Batavia.
2. Liem Tuan Huan (1905-1986), a Vietnamese painter and sculptor who played a significant role in the development of modern art in Vietnam.
3. Liem Sioe Liong (1916-2003), a Dutch-Indonesian businessman and politician who served as the Minister of Finance for the Netherlands Antilles.
4. Liem Soei Liong (1923-1995), a renowned Indonesian architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Jakarta.
5. Liem Viet Khiem (1933-2008), a Vietnamese-American engineer and entrepreneur who founded the company Tandon Corporation, a pioneer in the personal computer industry.

As the Liem surname spread globally, it sometimes took on slightly different spellings or variations, such as Liam, Liam, or Liem, depending on the region and language. However, the core meaning and origin of the name remained rooted in the Vietnamese concept of virtue and respectability.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Liem

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Liem.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Liem was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Liem has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Liem was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Liem, please contact us.

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