Alim
Masculine · “learned”
Alim is the Arabic word for a scholar — one who knows — and al-Alim, the All-Knowing, is among the names of God.
How old is the name Alim?
Alim first appears in US birth records in 1970 — 55 years ago. The typical Alim alive today was born around 2010, making them about 15 years old. About 800 people named Alim are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Alim most popular?
Alim peaked in 1975, reaching #2902 nationally. Today it ranks #3949, 1,047 places below that high. See the whole 1975 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Alim
The root ʿ-l-m is one of the most productive in Arabic and produced the whole vocabulary of learning — ilm for knowledge, alim for a scholar, ulama for the scholarly class, and the divine name al-Alim. Islamic civilization's emphasis on the scholar as a social role runs through that vocabulary. The name is used across the Muslim world and reaches American records from all of it.
Meaning
learned, knowing
From an Arabic root meaning to know; the plural ulama names the body of religious scholars, and the same root gives ilm, knowledge, and the word for a sign or mark by which something is known.
Pronouncing Alim
ah-LEEM
Two syllables with the stress on the long second. English speakers often say AH-lim.
Nicknames for Alim
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1970
- Most boys named
- 202440 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2902reached in 1975
- Change vs 2024
- −32.5%27 in 2025, from 40
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Alim in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Aleem in Arabic — spelling variant
- Alim in Turkish — same name
- Aleem in Urdu — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Illinois, New York, California.
Alims among us
people named Alim are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 63,262 born in 2025 was named Alim
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Alim
- #3949
- Alim on the 2025 chart
- #892
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Alim went to 27 boys in 2025, but Aalim is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 36, which makes it the 892nd most-given boys’ name of the year — 3,057 places above the chart.
- Alim27
- Aalim9
About 1 boy in 47,447 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 63,262 for Alim itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Nuel test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Alim's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Nuel climbed just as high around 1926, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Nuel's path sketches the road Alim is walking now.
Alim sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Alim is headed
Alim should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Alim beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Alim in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning with a genuinely central place in Islamic civilization.
- Ali is a complete name in its own right and a ready short form.
- Four letters and two syllables, about as easy to write as a name gets.
- Aleem is the other standard spelling and relatives may prefer it.
- The stress moves to the front in English mouths.
- It is close to Alim, Salim and Halim, which are separate Arabic names.
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What they receive
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Alim
Masculine · #3949 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Alims are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Alim are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Alim?
- Alim is the most-used spelling in US records — 27 of the 36 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Aalim.
- How popular is the name Alim in 2025?
- Alim ranks #3949 among US boy names in 2025, with 27 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Alim?
- About 1 in every 63,262 US boys born in 2025 was named Alim — 27 in all.
- Will my child share the name Alim with classmates?
- Alim will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Alim
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Stewart#3949 · Tillman#3949 · Ashley#3949 · Alfonzo#3949 · Blane#3949 · Brayton#3949 · Omega#3949 · Rufus#3949
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Alim? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Alim and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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