Recorded as Karim and Karima, this is a famous Islamic or Muslim (sur)name. It is probably wrong to call any Muslim name a surname or indeed a personal name, because these are Western terms which strictly do not apply. The nations which preach the Muslim faith do so in a wide range of interpretations of the Koran, which is hardly surprising when some fifty nations are involved speaking about the same number of languages. Taking this into account nevertheless Islamic names are formed to a pattern or sequence commencing with the kunya or father's and mother's names, followed by the nasab or relationship to ones forebearers, and the nisba or home place, and the laqab or proper name which is often a nickname. This is a generalisation and there are many variations on the sequence. Therefore it is very difficult to give a simple meaning and origin as in the west. With Karim or Karima we would say that it means 'The beneficient' and is usually found as a compound such as Anwar al-Karim or Raja al-Karim