lim

Lim is a surname and, less commonly, a given name in East and Southeast Asia, and it also appears in various linguistic contexts as a romanization. The most widely cited origin is the Chinese surname 林, meaning forest. In Hokkien and Teochew communities, 林 is commonly romanized as Lim; in Mandarin it is typically rendered Lin, and in Cantonese as Lam. In Vietnamese, a closely related surname is Lâm (often transliterated as Lam or Lim in Western contexts). In Indonesia and Malaysia, Lim is a standard romanization of 林 and is common among Chinese communities there.

Distribution and usage vary by country. Lim is particularly prevalent among Chinese communities in Singapore and Malaysia and is also found in the broader Chinese diaspora, including North America and Australia. As a given name or middle name, Lim may occur in multicultural contexts, though it is much more commonly encountered as a surname.

Notable bearers of the surname include individuals across politics, arts, science, and sports. One widely recognized figure is Lim Guan Eng, a Malaysian politician who has served as Penang chief minister and as finance minister, illustrating the surname’s prominence in Southeast Asia.

In mathematics and related disciplines, lim (lowercase) is the standard abbreviation for the limit of a function as its argument approaches a point; this usage is not capitalized. The term appears in numerous academic contexts and should not be confused with the surname's orthography.