Given name & surname
Asim
“a protector or guardian”
Asim is used as a given name and a surname. One Arabic interpretation is “a protector or guardian.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Arabic interpretation is “a protector or guardian.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.
How it developed
From Ottoman Turkish عاصم (âsim), from Arabic عَاصِم.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1969. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Asim through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,325
- 1,325 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2022
- 58 babies
- 2025
- 57
- #2,393 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +23%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 57 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,393 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 22.7% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (8). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,308 as a first name in 2020; 794 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Asim’s family of names
Asim has a related form in Azim. In English usage, Asim has a related form in Azeem. Asim has a related form in Azeem.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 11
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Azimvariant
- Azeemvariant · English
- Aseemvariant
- Azymvariant
- Aziemvariant
- Azeimvariant
- Azeamvariant
- Asymvariant
Show 3 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Asim
- Asim MunirChief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan (born 1968)
- Azim IsabekovPrime Minister of Kyrgyzstanborn 1960
- Abu Muhammad al-MaqdisiJordanian-Palestinian Islamist writer (born 1959)
- Asim FerhatovićYugoslav footballer (1933-1987)
- Aasim ibn Abi al-Najudprimary transmitter of the Qira'at (died 745)700–745
- Asim ibn UmarSon of caliph Umar and hadith scholar (c.628–c.689)
- Asim ibn Thabitsahabi (Companion) of Muhammad
- Asim BasuIndian actor and artist (1935-2017)
- Asim VokshiKosovar staff officer of the Garibaldi Battalion (1909-1937)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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