Meaning & origin
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1897. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Lima through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 190
- 0 boys · 190 girls
- Most popular year
- 1904
- 10 babies
- 2025
- 10
- #9,832 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +23%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 10 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 9,832 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 23.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 635 as a first name in 2020; 20,554 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.
People named Lima
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Lima, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Lisetta
Lisetta is a feminine given name from Italian.
>99% girls
Lamora
Lamora is a surname from Spanish.
>99% girls
Lauretta
“crowned with laurel; from the laurel tree”
>99% girls
Lundy
“born on a Monday” · “from the marshland”
21% boys · 79% girls
Cuba
“from the island”
8% boys · 92% girls
Elda
“a battlemaiden; a protector”
>99% girls
Gola
“ravine”
2% boys · 98% girls
Heloise
“one who is famous in battle”
>99% girls