Fun Facts About the Name Alim
- 840 babies named Alim: U.S. records list 840 babies given the name Alim from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Alim Mean?
Alim is an Arabic name meaning "learned" or "knowledgeable." It comes from the Arabic adjective ʿalīm (عليم), built on the root ʿ-l-m, which concerns knowledge and knowing. The same root produces ʿilm, "knowledge," and ʿālim, "a learned person" or scholar.
In Islamic tradition, al-ʿAlīm, "the All-Knowing," is one of the names of God, where the adjective describes knowledge that is unlimited. Applied to a person, the name keeps the ordinary sense of the word. The usual English gloss "learned" is a literal translation of the Arabic adjective rather than a later symbolic reading.
Alim Name History & Origins
The name belongs to the Arabic vocabulary that spread with Islam. Because ʿalīm is both an everyday word and a divine attribute, it was adopted as a personal name in Persian, Turkish, Urdu, and other languages of Muslim societies, so its use is not limited to Arabic-speaking countries.
Theophoric compounds place it alongside other elements, as in ʿAbd al-ʿAlīm, "servant of the All-Knowing," where ʿabd means "servant." South Asian forms such as Alimuddin build it into longer compound names.
Speakers of languages that lack the Arabic ʿayn (a pharyngeal consonant) dropped or replaced that sound, and transliterations like Alim and Aleem generally leave the ʿayn unmarked. That is why the name is usually pronounced in English with a plain initial vowel. Turkish writes it as Âlim, with a marked long a.
How Popular is the Name Alim?
Alim has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2024. Its best rank was #2,908 in 1975.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,954 | 27 | 0.0016% |
| 2024 | #3,038 | 40 | 0.0023% |
| 2023 | #3,881 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 2022 | #4,441 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2021 | #4,119 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 2020 | #3,420 | 32 | 0.0019% |
| 2019 | #3,348 | 34 | 0.0019% |
| 2018 | #3,108 | 37 | 0.0020% |
| 2017 | #3,893 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 2016 | #4,782 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2015 | #4,546 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2014 | #5,741 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2013 | #4,321 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2012 | #4,007 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 2011 | #4,987 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2010 | #4,104 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 2009 | #4,754 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 2008 | #3,926 | 26 | 0.0013% |
| 2007 | #4,500 | 21 | 0.0010% |
| 2006 | #5,082 | 17 | 0.0008% |
| 2005 | #4,470 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2004 | #5,823 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2003 | #5,043 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2002 | #4,190 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2001 | #4,685 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2000 | #4,394 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 1999 | #4,347 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1998 | #5,164 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1997 | #4,970 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1996 | #3,404 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 1995 | #4,286 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1994 | #6,397 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1993 | #5,013 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1992 | #4,580 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1991 | #8,266 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1990 | #4,412 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1989 | #5,177 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1988 | #6,447 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1987 | #5,473 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1986 | #4,863 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1985 | #5,167 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1984 | #4,223 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1981 | #6,299 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1980 | #4,951 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1979 | #5,377 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1978 | #2,931 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 1977 | #4,603 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1976 | #4,024 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1975 | #2,908 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1973 | #4,521 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1970 | #4,742 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
Explore More Lists with Name Alim
Most Popular Boy Names That Start with A
Unique Short Boy Names That Start with A
How the Name Alim Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Powerful and complete. You are good intellectually and require several outlets for your energies. You are not a builder but a planner, and you want others to carry out your plans. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Alim's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Alim's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.