Given name & surname
Kim
“as precious as gold”
Kim has several distinct name histories, including English and Scandinavian short forms.
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Vietnamese interpretation is “as precious as gold.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Vietnamese.
How it developed
In Norwegian Bokmål usage, Kim is a diminutive of Kimberly. In Norwegian Bokmål usage, Kim is a short form of Kimberly.
The story
In Rudyard Kipling’s Kim, the boy’s name shortens Kimball. That literary use is distinct from English Kim as a short form of Kimberley and Scandinavian Kim as a short form of Joakim.
Kim through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 214,768
- 34,951 boys · 179,817 girls
- Most popular year
- 1960
- 13,635 babies
- 2025
- 40
- #4,228 for girls · #11,404 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −16%
- Easing
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 17% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 34 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 4,228 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 21.8% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 12,477 in 1960. It also appeared in 6 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (7). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 246,384 as a first name in 2020; 274,068 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Kim’s family of names
In Norwegian Bokmål usage, Kim is a diminutive of Kimberly. In English usage, Kim has a related form in Kym. In Norwegian Bokmål usage, Kim is a short form of Kimberly.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Kim has relatives in 26 languages. Lines run from its Vietnamese roots to each of them.
23 related names in 26 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 13
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 4
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 14
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Kimberequivalent
- Jinequivalent
- Jianequivalent
- Eydieequivalent
- Kimbleequivalent
- 김Korean
- 兼equivalent
- 金Japanese, Mandarin
Show 6 moreShow fewer
People named Kim
- Kim KardashianAmerican media personality, businesswoman, model and actress (born 1980)
- Kim BasingerAmerican actress (born 1953)
- Kim ClijstersBelgian tennis playerborn 1983
- Kim NovakAmerican actressborn 1933
- Kim CattrallBritish–Canadian actress (born 1956)
- Kim WildeEnglish pop singer (born 1960)
- Edie McClurgAmerican comedian and actressborn 1945
- Kim HunterAmerican actress (1922-2002)
- Kim KällströmSwedish association football playerborn 1982
Characters named Kim: Edie Britt (fictional character on Desperate Housewives), Kim Bauer (the television series 24), Kim Wexler (Better Call Saul), Kim Greylek (fictional human).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Kim, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Uta
“fortunate maid of battle” · “poem”
>99% girls
Beth
“my God is bountiful” · “God is my oath”
>99% girls
Janine
“God is gracious”
>99% girls
Pam
“very strange” · “a woman who is as sweet as honey”
>99% girls
Jayne
“God is gracious”
1% boys · 99% girls
Lisha
“one who is lucky and successful”
>99% girls
Alesia
“noble” · “kind”
>99% girls
Sheryl
“one who is greatly loved; a darling” · “from the bright clearing”
>99% girls