girl's name
Kimberly
KIM-ber-lee
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 8
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 861,144
the United States
#302
2025 births
Kimberly is a girl's name that reached America by way of a South African diamond town, which was itself named after a British colonial secretary. It peaked in 1970 and still ranks 302nd in the United States.
- Kimberly is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1970, when 34,243 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 3,286 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1933.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Kimberly over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1930s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1930s | 52 |
| 1940s | 1,282 |
| 1950s | 50,196 |
| 1960s | 260,126 |
| 1970s | 229,955 |
| 1980s | 147,079 |
| 1990s | 78,124 |
| 2000s | 48,610 |
| 2010s | 27,300 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 7,942 |
What Kimberly means
Kimberly means Cyneburg's field, or the meadow by the royal fortress. It is an English place name built on a woman's name, and it became a personal name only after passing through a South African town.
Where Kimberly comes from
Kimberly is an English place name — most likely Cyneburg's ley, the clearing or field of a woman called Cyneburg, whose own name means royal fortress. The route to modern use is roundabout. John Wodehouse, first Earl of Kimberley, was British Colonial Secretary when diamonds were found in South Africa in 1871, and the mining town was named for him. The Second Boer War of 1899 to 1902, and the siege of Kimberley in particular, put the word in front of British and American newspaper readers daily, and it began appearing as a given name shortly after. It was used for both sexes at first and became decisively female in the 1940s.
Kimberly in use
Kimberly peaked in the United States in 1970, when 34,243 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 302nd in the United States on 1,009 births, 458th in Ireland, 1753rd in England and Wales and 2108th in France, across 861,144 lifetime births. Our records carry it only from 1933, so its entire history sits within the period following the Boer War coverage that made the word familiar.
How popular is Kimberly?
In 2025, Kimberly was given to 1,009 babies in the United States, ranking #302 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Kimberly is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Kimberly
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Kimberly also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Kimberly over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Kimberly
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Kimberly in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Kimberly
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Kimberly — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Kimberly
What does the name Kimberly mean?
Cyneburg's field — an English place name, where Cyneburg itself means royal fortress.
Where does the name Kimberly come from?
From the English place name, to the Earl of Kimberley, to the South African diamond town named for him, to a given name after the Boer War.
Was Kimberly ever a boys' name?
Yes, it was used for both sexes at first and became decisively female in the 1940s.
How popular is Kimberly?
302nd in the United States, down from a 1970 peak of 34,243 births.
How many syllables are in Kimberly?
Kimberly has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Kimberly?
Kimberly is usually shortened to Kim and Kimmy.
Is Kimberly a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Kimberly currently ranks #302 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.