Lima
A name that usually points to the Portuguese/Spanish place name Lima, or to families identified with that place.
The #1,882 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 16,157 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Lima is most commonly a surname of locational origin, referring to the river and city name Lima in Iberian usage. The place-name is traditionally connected with the ancient Roman name for the river, which in turn goes back to older pre-Roman or Latinized forms; in surname use, it simply marked someone as ‘of Lima’ or ‘from Lima.’ In some Iberian and diaspora contexts, it also appears in compound or nobiliary-style forms such as de Lima.
History
The surname is found in Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking regions and spread widely through migration from the Iberian Peninsula to the Americas and elsewhere. Historical records also show it in compound surnames among Sephardic and Portuguese Jewish families, as well as in place-based naming patterns more generally. Because Lima is also a common place name, the surname may have arisen independently in more than one family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same name can be both a major South American capital and a long-established family surname, which is why it often looks unmistakably geographic.
From the historical record
“' 1615. Richard EnleMan uiled for Virginia rnnn the Port of London'; Hotten'a LiMa of Emigrania, p. 101. Doubtless all were related to one another. EaR Rid. Yofkahlre, 1, o : New York,”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances