Lima History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The earliest origins of the name Lima date back to the time of the Anglo-Saxons. The name is derived from the baptismal name for the son of Leman, which was taken from the personal name Liefman. 1

Early Origins of the Lima family

The surname Lima was first found in Suffolk at Wenhaston, a parish, in the union and hundred of Blything. "The family of Leman had a [family] seat here. The church is an ancient structure in the decorated English style, with a square embattled tower, and contains several monuments to the Leman family." 2

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 provided some of the earliest records of the family, typically with ancient spellings: Leman Bru in Norfolk; Alan filius Leman in Cambridgeshire; Eldred Leman in Somerset; and Thomas Letman in Oxfordshire. 3

Early History of the Lima family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lima research. Another 83 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1185, 1616, 1637, 1645, 1660, 1667, 1690, 1695, 1701 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Lima History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lima Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Lima include Leaman, Leamen, Leman, Lemon, Lemmon, Leemon, Limon and many more.

Early Notables of the Lima family

Notables of the family at this time include Sir John Leman, Lord Mayor of London in 1616; Sir William Leman, 1st Baronet (died 1667), an English politician who sat in the House of...
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Lima Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lima Ranking

In the United States, the name Lima is the 3,261^st most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 4 However, in France, the name Lima is ranked the 3,689^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,500 - 2,000 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Lima family to Ireland

Some of the Lima family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lima migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Lima or a variant listed above:

Lima Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Simon Lima, who arrived in New York in 1825 6
Gonzalo De Lima, who landed in Nombre de Dios, Panama in 1834 6
Manuel Lima, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1860 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Lima (post 1700) +

Helen Lima (1917-2005), American politician, Candidate for Presidential Elector for California, 1972 7
Gail Lima, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Florida, 2004 7
Charlene Lima, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Rhode Island State House of Representatives 14th District; Elected 2002 7
Albert Jason Lima (1907-1989), American politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from California 1st District, 1940, 1942; Candidate for Presidential Elector for California, 1972 7
Frank De Lima, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 2008 8
João Lima (1961-2023), Portuguese hurdler
Pedro Manuel Barata de Macedo Lima (1971-2020), Portuguese-Angolan actor, best known for appearing in telenovelas in Portugal, former gold medalist swimmer
Elon Lages Lima (1929-2017), Brazilian mathematician and former professor emeritus at Instituto Nacional de Matemática Pura e Aplicada
Aparecido Francisco de Lima (b. 1981), Brazilian football striker
Brian Lima (b. 1972), former Samoan rugby union footballer, inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame (2011)
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html