Fun Facts About the Name Liem
- 741 babies named Liem: U.S. records list 741 babies given the name Liem from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Liem Mean?
Liem is chiefly a Vietnamese given name, written with a diacritic as Liêm. It comes from the Sino-Vietnamese element liêm, meaning "honest," "upright," or "incorruptible." That word traces back to the Chinese character 廉 (lián), whose core sense is moral integrity and freedom from graft. Vietnamese keeps the element in words such as liêm khiết ("integrity") and thanh liêm ("honest, uncorrupted").
The same spelling also serves as a surname among Chinese families in Indonesia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. There it stands for the Hokkien pronunciation of the Chinese surname 林 (Lîm), the name written Lin in Mandarin and usually Lim in Malaysia and Singapore; its literal sense is "forest" or "woods." The Vietnamese given name and the Chinese-Indonesian surname share a spelling but not an origin.
Liem Name History & Origins
Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary entered the Vietnamese language through centuries of Chinese administration and cultural influence, and names taken from that layer, including Liêm, have long been used beside native Vietnamese names. In Vietnamese naming the family name comes first, followed by a middle name and a given name, and Liêm appears both on its own and as one element of longer compound given names.
As a surname, Liem belongs to the Chinese diaspora in Indonesia. Family names there were romanized through the Dutch-based spelling of the Dutch East Indies, in which ie represents the "ee" sound, so Hokkien 林 was written Liem rather than the Mandarin Lin or the Malaysian and Singaporean Lim. From 1966 onward, Indonesian policy pressed citizens of Chinese descent to adopt Indonesian-sounding names, and many families dropped surnames of this kind; the businessman Liem Sioe Liong, for instance, became widely known as Sudono Salim.
How Popular is the Name Liem?
Liem 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 2011. Its best rank was #2,507 in 2013.
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 | #4,630 | 22 | 0.0013% |
| 2024 | #5,786 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2023 | #4,991 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 2022 | #4,242 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 2021 | #4,711 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 2020 | #3,980 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 2019 | #4,418 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2018 | #5,229 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2017 | #3,348 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 2016 | #2,708 | 45 | 0.0024% |
| 2015 | #2,887 | 41 | 0.0021% |
| 2014 | #2,691 | 45 | 0.0023% |
| 2013 | #2,507 | 49 | 0.0026% |
| 2012 | #2,936 | 40 | 0.0021% |
| 2011 | #2,531 | 49 | 0.0026% |
| 2010 | #3,279 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 2009 | #3,520 | 31 | 0.0016% |
| 2008 | #4,098 | 25 | 0.0012% |
| 2007 | #4,734 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 2006 | #5,981 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2005 | #5,185 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2004 | #6,809 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2003 | #8,312 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2002 | #6,354 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2001 | #8,860 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2000 | #8,756 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1999 | #9,431 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #5,919 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1996 | #6,874 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1995 | #6,749 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1994 | #9,692 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1993 | #8,266 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1991 | #6,983 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1990 | #6,183 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1985 | #5,512 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1984 | #6,933 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1982 | #6,095 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1981 | #5,259 | 7 | 0.0004% |
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.
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How the Name Liem Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You always bring to completion anything you start. You are generous but like to see returns from your giving. You have an executive ability, you are a leader. You are moral, balanced, honest and intellectual, and you may attain spirituality. You are wise and practical with an appreciation of beauty. You always think before you act. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
Creative and outgoing, you are always looking for an opportunity to show your abilities, especially before audience. You are very flexible and like to feel appreciated. You are looking for chances to mix with others socially and to communicate your ideas. You like to talk and can easily relate to different cultures and concepts. The biggest challenge for you is uncertainty. Easily getting bored, you can move from one job to another, switch projects and lovers. The high creative force can lead you either to happiness or unhappiness. If you understand your goals, if you can make major decisions in life and follow it directly and straight up without worry and uncertainty, you are able to achieve great heights.
✦ Liem's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Liem's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.