Meaning and background
The story behind Lim
Lim has multiple surname histories that cannot be read from Roman letters alone. The dictionary gives English Lum and Korean Im variants, several Chinese character routes and Cambodian forms of Chinese origin. The forest meaning belongs to forms representing 林, not every Lim family. A dog receiving Lim as a family tribute benefits from the intended character and language context being preserved alongside the spelling.
- Origin
- Surname with English, Korean, Chinese and Cambodian routes; some Chinese and Cambodian forms represent the forest character 林. Source
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Everyday moments“Lim, come here!”
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About Lim
Recorded as a dog’s name
Lim appears in 4 dog licence records in the 2022 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/lɪm/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/lɪm/ · primary stress on syllable 1L IH1 M
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — all seven available extract years, retrieved 24 October 2026 — Recorded name spellings in NYC licence-period rows, extract years 2016–2018, 2022–2024 and 2026. Evidence selects one stated year per name. Annual snapshots overlap; never sum them as unique dogs. No national popularity, etymology or owner naming-intent claim.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.