Karim
A surname and given name from Arabic meaning “generous” or “noble.”
The #6,001 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 53,892 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Karim comes from Arabic karīm, a word meaning “generous,” “honorable,” or “noble.” It is built on the Arabic root K-R-M, which carries the sense of generosity and nobility of character. As a surname, it usually began as a personal name or honorific that later became hereditary.
History
Karim is widespread across Muslim communities in the Middle East, South Asia, and parts of Africa, and it also appears in diaspora communities worldwide. Because it is also used as a given name, the surname may have arisen independently in different families from a respected ancestor or from a naming tradition based on the personal name Karim. In some contexts it is associated with devotional naming, since al-Karim is one of the traditional divine epithets in Islam.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Karīm is also one of the 99 traditional names or attributes of God in Islamic tradition, which helped make it a favored personal name.