As a surname there is one Chinese character for the surname Kim. This surname of Kim is the most common Korean surname, with roughly about 20 percent of the Korean population having the Kim name. Families of Kims are in every part of Korea (North and South). The term ‘kim’ means gold.

Other spelling forms for Kim are Gim, Gimhae and Gimpo. In Vietnam the surname is spelled Jin.

Within the United States the Kim surname is mostly in Hawaii and California. In England very few live in the nation with the Kim surname. One large group is in the Hampshire county in the southern region. In Scotland just one major county has residents with the Kim surname and it is Kirkcudbrightshire.


Famous: Alex Kim (professional tennis player), Kim Jong-il (leader of North Korea), Kim Byung-hyun (professional baseball player), Kim Hee-sun (South Korean actress), Kim Mi-hyun (professional female golfer), Gail Kim (professional female wrestler from Canada),Kim Young-min (president of SM Entertainment Co), Kim Hyung-tae (artist) and Andre Kim (South Korean fashion designer).