Given name & surname
Kimberley
“as precious as gold”·“of the royal fortress”
In English use, Kimberley is a form of Kim. One Vietnamese interpretation is “as precious as gold.” In English use, Kimberley has an alternative spelling in Kimberly. One English interpretation is “of the royal fortress.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Kimberley is a form of Kim. One Vietnamese interpretation is “as precious as gold.” In English use, Kimberley has an alternative spelling in Kimberly. One English interpretation is “of the royal fortress.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1941. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Kimberley is a form of Kim. The history of Kim gives this family its wider 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.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Kimberley through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 38,278
- 235 boys · 38,043 girls
- Most popular year
- 1967
- 2,008 babies
- 2025
- 21
- #5,828 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −33%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 21 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 5,828 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 33.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 2,003 in 1967. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 33,055 as a first name in 2020; 462 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.
Kimberley’s family of names
In English usage, Kimberley has a diminutive in Kim. Kimberley has a related form in Kimberly. Kimberley has a related form in Kimberly.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Kimberley has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Old English roots to each of them.
7 related names in 4 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Kimberlyvariant · English
- Kimdiminutive · French, Norwegian Bokmål
- Kimidiminutive · English
- Kimberleevariant · English
- Kimmiediminutive · English
- Kimberleighvariant · English
- Kimmydiminutive · English
- Kimmberleylikely variant
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Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Kimberley
- Kim GrantGhanaian association football playerborn 1972
- Kim DealAmerican singer-songwriter; alternative rock musicianborn 1961
- Kimberley WalshBritish singer and actressborn 1981
- Kim BrennanAustralian rowerborn 1985
- Kimberley Bosskeleton racer from the Netherlandsborn 1993
- Kim MickleAustralian javelin throwerborn 1984
- Kimberley JosephAustralian film directorborn 1973
- Kimberley NixonBritish actressborn 1985
- Kimberley Le CourtMauritian cyclistborn 1996
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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