Girl · #260 in 2026

Kimberly

Kimberley is a unisex given name of Old English origin. John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley, a place in Norfolk, England, popularised the name by giving it to a town in South Africa and a region in Australia.

  • English
Current Rank
#260
Peak Rank
#2 (1970)
Total Babies
848K
5-Yr Trend
-19%
1933
First Year
2026
Last Year
1970
Peak Year
#2
Peak Rank
848K
Total Count
94
Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Kimberly

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Kimberley is a unisex given name of Old English origin. John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley, a place in Norfolk, England, popularised the name by giving it to a town in South Africa and a region in Australia.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)

  • English

The Story of Kimberly

Kimberly first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1933, with 7 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1970: 34,133 births, good for #3 nationwide. About 31% of every Kimberly on record arrived during the 1960s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Kimberly ranks #260 for baby girls with 1,233 births, falling sharply (-19%). All told, over 848K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1930s to the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

ME
WA
MT
ND
MN
WI
MI
NY
VT
NH
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
DC
UT
CO
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
AK
AZ
NM
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
HI
TX
FL
Top 10
11-50
51-100
101-500
500+
No data

Variants & Related Forms of Kimberly

Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Kimberly. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Names that sound like Kimberly

Phonetically similar names — useful when Kimberly is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Kimberly

What does the name Kimberly mean?
Kimberley is a unisex given name of Old English origin. John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley, a place in Norfolk, England, popularised the name by giving it to a town in South Africa and a region in Australia.
What is the origin of the name Kimberly?
Kimberly has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: English.
How popular is Kimberly in 2026?
In 2026, Kimberly ranks #260 among girls' names in the U.S., with 1,233 babies given the name that year.
When was Kimberly most popular?
Kimberly reached its peak popularity in 1970, ranking #2 that year with 34,133 babies given the name.
In which U.S. states is Kimberly most popular?
Kimberly has historically been most popular in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Kimberly.
Is Kimberly a unisex name?
In U.S. Social Security records, Kimberly is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.
What names go well with Kimberly?
Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Kimberly include Anna, Helen, Susan. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.
What are nicknames or variants of Kimberly?
Common variants and related forms of Kimberly include Kim, Kimber, Kimberlee, Kimberleigh, Kimberley, Kimbra. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms.

Similar Names

👧
Anna
Peak #2
👧
Helen
Peak #2
👧
Susan
Peak #2
👧
Amanda
Peak #2
👧
Hannah
Peak #2
👧
Amy
Peak #2
👧
Barbara
Peak #2
👧
Betty
Peak #2

About the name Kimberly

Kimberly is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1933 and has accumulated 848K births in the dataset. Kimberly's peak popularity came in 1970 when it ranked #2. Use the chart and map above to compare Kimberly's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

  • Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
  • Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
  • Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
  • Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
  • Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.